{"id":568,"date":"2014-08-17T20:15:36","date_gmt":"2014-08-17T20:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/ebn\/?p=568"},"modified":"2014-08-17T20:15:36","modified_gmt":"2014-08-17T20:15:36","slug":"ebola-a-global-health-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/ebn\/2014\/08\/17\/ebola-a-global-health-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebola – a global health problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I will be hosting this week\u2019s ENB twitter chat on Wednesday the 20th<\/sup> of August between 8-9pm<\/strong> focusing on \u2018Ebola viral disease – a global health problem?\u2019 Participating in the twitter chat requires a Twitter account; if you do not already have one you can create an account at www.twitter.com<\/a>. Once you have an account contributing is straightforward – follow the discussion by searching links to #ebnjc<\/a> @EBNursingBMJ<\/a>, or better still, create a tweet (tweets are text messages limited to 140 characters) to @EBNursingBMJ<\/a> and add #ebnjc<\/a> (the EBN chat hash tag) at the end of your tweet, this allows everyone taking part to view your tweets.<\/p>\n

This past week, the Ebola outbreak in Africa has been reported extensively. Ebola viral disease is a severe, often fatal illness caused by the Ebola virus, with a 90% fatality rate. Transmission of the virus to humans is by contact with blood or bodily fluids from infected animals most commonly monkeys or fruit bats (thought to be the natural host for the Ebola virus); once in the population human-human spread rapidly occurs. Outbreaks primarily occur in tropical rainforests such as the remote villages in Central and West Africa. Ebola viral disease is named after the Ebola River in Zaire, where the first outbreak in Sudan and Zaire was reported in 1976; over 284 people were infected and 53% of infected people died. A second outbreak followed a few months later in Yambuku, Zaire with a different virus strain (Ebola-Zair or EBOZ) which had a higher mortality rate (88% of the 318 infected people died). There have been other strains of the Ebola virus, the last known being Ebola Cote d’Ivoire (EBO-CI) identified in 1994. The current outbreak of Ebola viral disease is the largest to-date affecting\u00a0 Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria\u00a0with more than 1,750 suspected cases reported.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of Ebola viral disease occur two days to three weeks after being in contact with the virus and include fever, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, which can result in decreased liver and kidney function, and can cause internal and external haemorrhaging (hence it was formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever). There are currently no licensed treatments or vaccines available for\u00a0Ebloa viral disease; care is supportive and symptom management, with severely ill patients requiring intensive supportive care. Several experimental treatments for Ebola viral disease are in development (Zmapp and Tekmira) and although results are encouraging have only undergone animal testing and testing on a small number of healthy human volunteers. A number of prototype vaccines again are in early development and potential vaccines may be available as early as 2016.<\/p>\n

Stigma and victimisation are features of Ebola epidemics, with reports of infected individuals and health workers being ostracised by the community, unable to find work, abandoned by their partners and the possessions and homes of some survivors burned. In this current outbreak there have been reports that a quarantine centre for suspected Ebola patients in the Liberian capital of Monrovia have been attacked.<\/p>\n

The World Heath Organisation has issues two statements this month in relation to viral disease:<\/p>\n

Ethical considerations for use of unregistered interventions for Ebola viral disease (EVD)<\/a>\u00a012 August 2014<\/p>\n

Panel identified areas that need more detailed analysis and discussion, such as:<\/p>\n