EBOLA VIRUS: NOT ANOTHER MOVIE TITLE

And the month of April began in an unloving manner, just to think that I spoke heavily on cleanliness in my last post stating, that the one most important form of maintaining good health through cleanliness is REGULAR WASHING OF HANDS. Sigh! Now the reality of the Ebola Virus as brought to light AGAIN the need for us to do this simple but lifesaving task WASHING OUR HANDS REGULARLY (call me a prophet. Lol.).

 I was cooking over the weekend anld my sister started complaining saying “you know this is why I don’t like sharing the kitchen with you, you always like to cook like those people on television” chuckling, I asked back ‘and what is wrong with the way they cook on television’? It’s actually a good thing to keep your hands clean before sprinkling condiments or arranging your food, It reduces the level of contamination at this she exclaimed “hmm won tun ti de o! Meaning there she goes again. I said yes! Maybe my knowledge of chemical reactions makes me weary of little things that a regular person may want to ignore but it does not take away the reality of the danger involved. Then she asked; what is this thing they call Ebola Virus? Then I said uhm uhm and sighed saying I need some time to concentrate on the food I’m cooking so we don’t ‘contaminate it with saliva’ eheheh. I wiggled my way out safely on that one (Well, just so you know my sister looks up to me a lot! So I live under perpetual pressure to perform, she is just bent on treating me like her eternal Google or Wikipedia).

However, that discussion actually spurred a great level of curiosity about the virus. I know I’ve heard about it and I think It was treated under virology when I was in the University, but I never really got round to caring about its reality or effects to our lives. So as usual I got to work, doing a rather large and intensive research for this topic (don’t worry I won’t bore you with all the details of the disease). It was indeed worth the time, energy and resources spent because Ebola Virus is not only deadly it is easily communicable and has no treatment.

I usually like to start with the background of a situation but I discovered that the origin of the Ebola Virus is not known, neither can we tell who discovered it. Apart from the fact that there are five known strains (types) of the virus four of Which a common to the African continent nothing much about its origin is known. Hmm… Ebola is a rare but deadly infection that causes bleeding inside and outside the body. Ebola strikes mainly in remote villages of Central and West Africa, but it has spread to some African cities, too. The disease, also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever or Ebola virus disease, kills up to 90% of people who are infected. In the past, explosive transmission has occurred in under-equipped hospitals due to the reuse of needles and lack of implementation of universal precautions. The good news is that the potential for widespread Ebola Virus epidemics is considered low due to the high case-fatality rate, the rapidity of demise of patients, and the often remote areas where infections occur.


It is almost impossible to do self-diagnosis of the virus because it carries similar symptoms with other more regular and widely studied diseases like malaria and typhoid. The symptoms for the Ebola virus may begin to appear between 2-25days. However, Tests of the blood and tissues, such as the ELISA test can be used to confirm the disease

The major symptoms and their stages include;

1. fever with chills
2. joint pain
3.muscle pain, and
4.chest pain
5.Nausea is accompanied by abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting
7.Respiratory involvement is characterized by: sore throat, cough and hiccups
8.The central nervous system is affected by: development of severe headaches, agitation, confusion, fatigue, depression, seizures, and sometimes coma. It may also include rash, especially around needle injection sites.

However, contrary to popular belief, hemorrhage is not the cause of death (total blood loss is low except during labour). Instead, death may occur due to multiple organ dysfunction (malfunction) syndrome (MODS) due to fluid redistribution and hypotension. Ebola Virus is believed to occur after contact with an infected animal host. Human-to-human transmission occurs through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids from an infected person (including embalming of an infected dead person) or by contact with contaminated medical equipment such as needles. for victims of this virus, although there are no Vaccines available unlike the case of Polio, Supportive therapy with attention to intravascular volume. Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care, because patients are frequently dehydrated and require oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes or intravenous fluids. Supportive therapy with attention to intravascular volume, electrolytes, nutrition, and comfort care is of benefit to the patient. Intravascular volume repletion is one of the most important supportive measures as no specific treatment is available . Survivors can produce infectious virions for prolonged periods. Therefore, strict barrier isolation in a private room away from traffic patterns must be maintained throughout the illness. Patient’s urine, stool, sputum, and blood, along with any objects that have come in contact with the patient or the patient’s body fluids (such as laboratory equipment), should be disinfected.

Patients who have died of Ebola virus disease should be buried promptly and with as little contact as possible.

Prevention is still the most potent way to survive the virus.
l.Eat healthy
2.wash fruits properly before eating
3.Wash your eating vessels too
4.Use face mask, towels, gloves (latex gloves) when giving care to those showing symptoms of the disease.
5.Boil your meat properly before consumption.

The World Health Organisation said that it expects the disease to continue in West Africa for the next few months.

So let us all Improve on our personal hygiene and be safe.

I hope I have been able to Clear the air about the disease and given Simple ways to avoid this virus?