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| Ebola Virus. Credit http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26726745 |
Recently there has been panic over a man who displayed hemorrhagic fever symptoms in Canada. The man had returned from a trip to Africa, where there have been recent outbreaks in countries such as The Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, and Uganda. He is currently in isolation, and has thankfully been deemed clear of the Ebola virus. According to some sources, the man had been in Liberia, where families of recent Guinea victims resided. The close connection between these family members and the diseased victims is only one piece of evidence which made healthcare officials suspicious of Ebola being the cause of the Canada man's symptoms.
It is not uncommon for the virus to spread from the corpses of victims to the living. Without proper protection the virus can easily spread through blood or other body fluids, and since one of the symptoms of the virus is profuse bleeding it is easy to imagine how readily this disease spreads. Unfortunately the virus can strike very rapidly, killing its victims within days. This gives healthcare officials very little time to contain and quarantine affected areas.
Along with trying to contain these deadly outbreaks I think it is important to try to provide sanitation equipment to high risk areas. Africa is often neglected and dismissed by the Western world, and too often crises like this are ignored until they pose a direct threat to us. (It wasn't until there was a probable case in Canada that news stations like Fox News, CNN, and BBC picked up the story.) Instead of ignoring the problem, providing basic safety equipment like gloves could prevent the spread of this disease and save many lives.
(Posted By Tim Daly) (Week 1)
I will most certainly dream about bleeding from my eyes tonight, Tim! Does the disease have a high prevalence in Africa right now compared to other diseases? I agree and think prevention methods would save many lives-speaking in relative terms, this seems a most unfortunate way to die.
ReplyDeletePosted by Taylor Schille
The disease is actually pretty rare, and tends to burn itself out quickly before it can spread to many people. Because it kills so fast it doesn't spread very far. There is an outbreak in Guinea right now though.
DeletePoster by Tim Daly
This disease sounds horrible! I was surprised how easily the virus can be spread just by people already killed by it, its ease of being transmitted certainly is a cause for concern. I wonder if there is research done on making a vaccine for this virus or any other preventative measures other than sanitation?
ReplyDeletePosted by Morgan Matuszko
I would imagine that research is very limited due to the lethality of this virus. Only labs with the highest safety clearance can work with organisms like this, but that being said I am sure somebody is researching a vaccine, among other things involving Ebola.
DeletePosted by Tim Daly
Viruses are amazing organisms considering how fast they adapt and can cripple or kill a much larger being in such a quick time. These can be very deadly organisms because of that and I wonder if it did make a showing in North America how fast we would be able to react to the outbreak.
ReplyDeleteI read the book about Ebola named "The Hot Zone" back in high school. Hearing the stories in the book about Ebola terrified me. It sounds like one of the most painful ways to die and it is even more terrifying how fast it happens. If Ebola were to spread to North America, I feel as though it would affect way more people than something like the Swine Flu because it is a lot more dangerous and definitely harder to cure.
ReplyDeletePosted by Amber Vien
Interesting read Tim, I actually have a question concerning the Canadian man, if he did not have the ebola virus what did he have instead?
ReplyDeletePosted by Jacob Geier
I'm not too sure what he had. I haven't heard any news on him since hearing that the disease wasn't Ebola. There are other pathogens that can cause Hemorrhagic fever though, and many of them are deadly as well.
DeletePosted by Tim Daly
I've heard of the ebola virus, but never knew that it is that fatal. I definitely agree that issues like this shouldn't go unnoticed by the Western world and require more attention. Do you know what is the cause of the outbreak? Does the virus grow on something in particular?
ReplyDelete-Samuel Ustayev
I think the disease is usually passed to humans from animals. It is blood borne and lives in other bodily fluids. I don't actually know how long the virus lives outside of a host, I don't think it is very long though, and I wouldn't think it to be more than a few days.
DeletePosted by Tim Daly