Throughout this world over the course of centuries, there were many deadly diseases and plagues that killed people or killed an entire population. From the black plague to chickenpox, disease have a huge impact on the population and countries as a whole. Just recently, the virus, Ebola, has made its way through countries across the world and have killed many people. Some people do not know what exactly Ebola is or how it kills people, but people need to discover the importance of the disease and how we as people are preventing it.
Ebola is a hemorrhagic virus, part of the virus family called Filoviridae, that consists of 5 other Ebola diseases. Ebola started in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with an infectious person. The infected person then spread the virus to thousands of people which lead to between 1,552 to 1,716 cases of Ebola. What causes this virus among many people are blood on a human as well as bodily fluids of infected or sick animals. Once these fluids are in or affect the human body, the virus Ebola will infect the whole body of an individual.
The symptoms of the virus Ebola are active two to three weeks after contracting the virus. Some common symptoms of Ebola are a very high fever, sore throat, muscle pain, as well as a headache. The high fever weakens the body to perform at an all time low and it is hard for the patient to move around or communicate. After the basic symptoms occur, more complex and harsher conditions come on to the patient. The patient would soon feel very sick and begin to vomit, develop a harsh rash, and develop a lot of very painful diarrhea.
One scientist on the virus Ebola describes the virus: “Ebola then turns the insides of its host into jelly: you begin to vomit black junk which is basically your dissolved liver and internal organs. ”. Though we live in a modern technological and medical world, there is no treatment to be found to fully cure an infected human being. Some people in the world have not fully treated the disease by tried abnormal treatments. People infected my go on oral rehydration therapy (salty/sweet water diet) or drink intravenous fluids.
The virus is so deadly, that its kills nearly 50 to 90 percent of its patients infected with the virus. Because there is no treatment, there are only way to prevent the disease from starting or spreading. The way the disease can not spread or develop is by checking animals (origin of disease) for infections or making sure not fluids make contact with human skin. Along with checking animals, humans need to wear protective gear to check, kill, and correctly dispose of the animal or people with Ebola.
Many believe a quarantine has done a good job to separate the virus from virus-free people. Some people in the Congo believe that just washing the hands may prevent the virus from attacking a human. Although countries have come a long way in preventing the disease, the disease had made it was closer to other countries and has found a way into the United States. There have been a handful of United States citizens who have been affected but have been “cured”. One case has been found in Texas when a man has not realized he was infected until three weeks later.
Because Ebola is a harsh, developing disease across the country and is growing concern, the United States and other county’s organizations have come to fight the disease. Before the virus, Ebola, has spread into the United States and friendly countries, the United States stepped up to fight the deadly disease. The current president, Barack Obama, has taken a huge to step to help fight the disease while other foreign problems, like Isis or Syria, has started over the last couple of months. Some ways the United States has been involved in fighting the disease is by sending in thousands of soldiers.
By sending in soldiers, the virus Ebola can be obtained more easily and create less of the spread. Also, the United States has also planned and announced the 22 million dollar project to create hospitals to station and help patients fight Ebola. This hospital will contain 100 beds and 500 health care providers per week. What other countries, international aid organizations, and the UN have done to fight the disease is provide health care systems. Although the health care systems are to help the patients, the systems failed miserably and collapsed under the strain of the virus, Ebola.
Also, other countries like Britain, have send more than 40 troops and humanitarian staff members to help cure and construct hospitals to fight the disease. At last, how do we develop health care infrastructures? One main position of creating health care infrastructures will focus on the people in poverty and helping them become distant from the disease. If we can eliminate the poverty community from Ebola, we can decrease the spread of it. At last, what we as people need to do is to donate or help out the system in which would put a huge dent and impact into cures and preventions for viruses such as Ebola.
Although the disease is deadly, two principles can be applied to the deadly disease called Ebola. Two principles that apply to the virus Ebola are human dignity and common good. Human dignity is something that can be taken away. One thing that can be taken away from Ebola patients is assisted or mandatory death. Common Good is for the benefit and interest of all. One action that benefits and interests all is to find a cure for the disease. In conclusion about Ebola, the rise of Ebola has started in our country and we need a way to find to cure Ebola around the world.