Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) is a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys and chimpanzees). The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae. There are four species of Ebola, three of which have caused disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, and Ebola-Ivory Coast. The fourth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans. When an infection does occur in humans, there are several ways in which the virus can be transmitted.
These include:?direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person ?exposure to objects (such as needles) that have been contaminated with infected secretions Symptoms of Ebola HF typically include: ?Fever ?Headache ?Joint and muscle aches ?Weakness ?Diarrhea ?Vomiting ?Stomach pain ?Lack of appetite Some patients may experience: ?A Rash ?Red Eyes ?Hiccups ?Cough ?Sore throat ?Chest pain ?Difficulty breathing ?Difficulty swallowing ?Bleeding inside and outside of the body In severe cases, patients could experience: ?
Black vomit ?Coughing up blood ?Blood secreting out of pores Hoelscher2 Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the Ebola virus though 8-10 days is most common. Some who become sick with Ebola HF are able to recover, while others do not. The reasons behind this are not yet fully understood. However, it is known that patients who die usually have not developed a significant immune response to the virus at the time of death. Standard treatment for Ebola HF is still limited to supportive therapy. This consists of:
•balancing the patient’s fluids and electrolytes •maintaining their oxygen status and blood pressure •treating them for any complicating infections Timely treatment of Ebola HF is important but challenging since the disease is difficult to diagnose clinically in the early stages of infection. Because early symptoms such as headache and fever are nonspecific to ebolaviruses, cases of Ebola HF may be initially misdiagnosed. The prevention of Ebola HF presents many challenges.
When cases of the disease do appear, there is increased risk of transmission within health care settings. Therefore, health care workers must be able to recognize a case of Ebola HF and be ready to employ practical viral hemorrhagic fever isolation precautions or barrier nursing techniques. Barrier nursing techniques include: •wearing of protective clothing (such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles) •the use of infection-control measures (such as complete equipment sterilization and routine use of disinfectant) •isolation of Ebola HF patients from contact with unprotected persons.