Key Points on How to Treat Ebola

What is Ebola disease (EVD)

Ebola disease (EVD) is a rare, severe, and often fatal viral hemorrhagic fever caused by Ebolaviruses. It is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids (blood, saliva, vomit, etc.) from infected humans or animals, with fruit bats being the most likely natural hosts. Symptoms start out like the flu (fever, headaches, and tiredness), but they get worse and include severe vomiting, diarrhea, internal and external bleeding, and organ failure. The death rate is high, between 25 and 90%. Contact with infected fluids can spread the disease, even after a person has died. To stop outbreaks, people must practice proper hygiene and wear safety gear.

Ebola Virus Lives in Eye Long After Blood Clears

Different kinds of Ebola

Below is a list of the four types of Ebola that people can contract. Ebola viruses are named for their original location, even if they spread elsewhere. The four types of Ebola viruses differ in the severity of symptoms they cause and their overall impact on health. Among them are

• Bundibugyo virus (BDBV) 
• The Sudan virus, 
• Taï Forest virus disease (TAFV). 
• The disease is commonly referred to as Ebola virus disease (EVD). EVD is the main reason why Ebola spreads and kills people.

What causes and spreads it

• The virus is in the Orthoebolavirus genus and the Filoviridae family.
• Fruit bats are thought to be the main carriers, but monkeys and other animals that live in forests can also have it.
• Person-to-Person: Come into direct touch with an infected person's blood, sweat, saliva, faeces, urine, vomit, or sperm.
• Environmental: Touching things or places that are dirty.
• After Death: The virus can still attack people who have died.

Signs and symptoms

What do you do if you have Ebola?

• Feels good.
• Feeling very weak and worn out.
• A fever.
• Lack of appetite.
• Muscle pain is present.
• A severe headache is experienced.
• Throat hurts.

*In the first two to twenty days after infection, symptoms may include fever, tiredness, joint pain, headache, and sore throat.

*Later: throwing up, diarrhoea, a rash, kidney and liver problems, and internal and external bleeding (nose, mouth, eyes, and rectum).

Risk and Safety

• People who work in healthcare, with family, or at funerals are at a high risk.
• Handwashing, keeping patients separate, wearing protective gear like gloves, gowns, and masks, safe burial practices, and getting vaccinated (for some species) are all ways to stop the spread of disease.

Important Fact

Infected people are contagious as soon as they exhibit symptoms and for the duration of the virus's presence in their bodies. A person's sperm could even carry the virus for months after they have recovered.

In what ways does Ebola spread?

Ebola is spread by touching contaminated surfaces or objects or coming into direct contact with an infected person's blood, bodily fluids (like saliva, vomit, faeces, sweat, breast milk, urine, or sperm), or tissues. It usually spreads through broken skin or mucous membranes, but it can still be passed through sexual contact after the person has recovered. The virus is passed on when a person starts to show signs, but some people who have already been infected can still contract it.

How Transmission Works

Animals to People (Spillover): People usually get infected by touching sick or dead animals like fruit bats (which are thought to be the virus' natural host), chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, or forest antelope.

Person-to-Person:

• Direct Contact: contact with the blood, fluids, or secretions of a sick or dead person, like vomit, feces, blood, or tears.
• Touching things like blankets, clothes, or needles that have been contaminated with infected fluids is called "contaminating."
• Sexual Transmission: Even after a person has healed, the virus can still be found in sperm and be passed on through oral, vaginal, or anal contact.
• How the body is buried: The virus can be spread through traditional burial practices that involve touching the body directly.

When people are very sick

• People are infectious only after they start to show signs of illness.
• As the illness gets worse, the risk goes up a lot.
• Survivors can continue to transmit the virus through their sperm for months after recovering.

What Doesn't Spread Ebola?

• Just shaking hands with someone who isn't showing any signs is a form of casual contact.
• Other insects, such as bugs or mosquitoes, can spread the virus.
• Transmission can occur through the air, unless the process generates respiratory droplets, such as during intubation.

Where does the Ebola virus come from?

Fruit bats from the Pteropodidae family are thought to be the native home of Orthoebolaviruses. Primates that are not humans have been known to infect humans in several past EBOD cases. However, they aren't considered water hosts; they're just there.

Which bug is the most dangerous?

What makes a virus "deadly" varies, but rabies is almost always fatal if not treated immediately after symptoms appear. Ebola, Marburg, Nipah, and Hendra viruses are also very dangerous. Nipah and Hendra have death rates of 40–80%. However, viruses like Influenza and Smallpox have historically caused a lot more deaths because they are so easily spread, though not always the highest percentage.

Viruses that have very high case fatality rates (CFR):

• Rabies Virus: It is almost always fatal once neurological signs appear.
• Ebola and Marburg viruses can have CFRs of more than 50% and even higher in some outbreaks, which can lead to serious hemorrhagic fever.
• Nipah and Hendra viruses kill 40–80% of those infected, but they're rarer than other viruses.
• Pandemic and epidemic viruses that kill many people:
• The smallpox virus, which once claimed millions of lives, has now been eradicated.
• Influenza (Flu): Seasonal flu and pandemics (like the Spanish Flu in 1918) kill hundreds of thousands to millions of people around the world every year.
• HIV/AIDS is an ongoing disease that has killed millions of people around the world over many years.
• COVID-19: Killing millions of people around the world in a short amount of time.

To put it simply, rabies is very dangerous and can kill you. But viruses like influenza and smallpox have killed more people because they are so easy to spread.

How is Ebola treated?

The video about Scientists discover cure for Ebola

To treat Ebola, doctors give important support such as fluids, oxygen, controlling blood pressure, and easing pain, along with specific antiviral treatments, mainly monoclonal antibodies like Inmazeb (REGN-EB3) and Ebanga (mAb114), which greatly increase survival rates for. To prevent infection, people are strictly quarantined and vaccinated. Even though there isn't a single cure for all Ebola viruses, these focused treatments and supportive measures help the body fight the infection and handle serious problems like organ failure or bleeding.

Helpful care (essential for survival)

• This is about taking care of severe effects while the body fights the virus:
• Water and electrolytes: intravenous (IV) fluids and salt replacement to keep the person from becoming dehydrated from vomiting or diarrhea.
• When blood pressure is dangerously low, vasopressors are used to raise it.
• Oxygenation: extra oxygen or airflow to make up for low oxygen levels.
• Blood Clotting: Medicines that can help stop bleeding in an emergency.
• Dialysis is a treatment option for individuals whose kidneys have failed.

Specific treatments (for Zaire Strain)

• Inmazeb (REGN-EB3) and Ebanga (mAb114) are two FDA-approved medicines that work like antibodies in the immune system to fight off viruses.
• Vaccines for prevention and disease control: The Ervebo vaccine protects people who are at a high risk of getting sick, which helps control outbreaks.
• Patients are kept apart to stop the spread of disease.
• Controlling infections: Strict rules must be followed in healthcare situations.

Can Ebola be cured?

Although there isn't a universal "cure," Ebola can be treated and survived, especially with early, intensive care. Some monoclonal antibody treatments, such as Inmazeb and Ebanga, are FDA-approved for specific strains and significantly improve outcomes. Supportive care, such as fluids, oxygen, and managing symptoms, is also crucial for recovery.

Key Points on How to Treat Ebola:

• Helpful care is very important: Rehydrating, balancing electrolytes, giving oxygen, supporting blood pressure, and treating bleeds are all very important.
• Specific Therapies: Some medicines can help treat Ebola virus disease (EVD), and the WHO recommends Inmazeb™ (atobevimab/maftivimab/odesivimab) and Ebanga™ (ansuvimab).
• Helping Kids Early: Starting treatment right away greatly improves the chances of surviving, since Ebola can be fatal if not treated.
• There are vaccines for EVD. Ervebo® and Zabdeno/Mvabea® are approved and are used to stop cases.
• Not Just One Cure: There isn't a single "magic bullet" that can cure all Ebola viruses, but there are medicines that work well.

Does Ebola kill?

The death rate from Ebola ranges from 25% to 90%, based on the treatment. On average, about 50% of people who suffer it die. Most people die from dehydration 6 to 16 days after the first signs appear.

Conclusion

You can get better from Ebola, but you need to see a doctor right away and get specific, supportive treatments. New medicines and vaccines have made it much easier to manage illness than it used to be. Even though there isn't a single cure for all Ebola viruses, these focused treatments and supportive measures help the body fight the infection and handle serious problems like organ failure or bleeding.