According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2014), “Ebola is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus strains. Ebola can cause disease in humans and non-human, such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. Ebola is caused by infection with a virus of the family Filoviridae, genus Ebolavirus. The Ebola virus is known for five Ebola virus species, four of these species are identified to cause disease in humans. These species are Ebola virus, Sudan virus, Tai Forest virus, and Bundibugyo virus.
The fifth species being Reston virus, which causes disease in nonhumans” (About Ebola). Origin The Ebola virus is found in several African countries and was originally detected in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). Since 1976, the Ebola virus epidemic then has occurred periodically in Africa. “The actual host of Ebola virus is unknown; however, based on the evidence and the nature of comparable viruses, researchers believe that the virus is animal-borne and that bats are the most likely the reservoir.
Four of the five virus strains occur in an animal host native to Africa” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). Affect on the Community and Community Response Even though the Ebola virus was first detected in 1976, it has completely taken the world by storm. As of October 29, 2014, there has been approximately 4,941 deaths out of 13,540 total cases throughout Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone with widespread transmission of the Ebola virus.
The United States had one death out of the four total cases of limited transmission (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2014). Benito (2014), “Houston-area hospitals have been taking steps to prepare for the possibility of an Ebola case here. Part of the RISK AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT 3 preparations include CDC guidelines for protective gear when dealing with possibly infected patients” (Houston health community reacts to Texas’ second Ebola case). Ben Taub Hospital has a triage set up in the hallway where nurses question every visitor to find out where they’ve been the last 21 days. A few of the questions being asked to visitors are: (1)
Have you been outside the country? (2)
Have you been around anyone that has been outside the country? (3) Have you been around somebody that has Ebola? The nursing staff is also screening and evaluating patients and visitors for symptoms like headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea and hemorrhage.
RISK AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT 4 References Benito, M. (2014). KHOU 11. Retrieved from http://www. khou. com/search/ebola/ Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2014). Ebola Virus Disease. Retrieved from http://Virus cdc. gov/vhf/ebola/about. html.