Thursday, June 09, 2016 the Center for Control Disease and Prevention (CDC) removed Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leona from the list travel notices. The measure is a response to an announcement made by the World Health Organization. The latter proudly declared that there has not been a confirmed Ebola patient in 42 days in the area.
Health organizations, both local and international, will keep a close eye on the situation but as for today goes, they say the Ebola epidemic that started in 2013 it’s finally under control.
The Ebola is a virus that leads to a series of complications including a fever that tends to be fatal if the patient is not treated. In the past, this disease was known as hemorrhagic fever.
Specialists discovered the virus is transferred to humans from wildlife, and the first confirmed cases were reported almost simultaneously in Nzara, South Sudan, and Yambuku in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Yambuku case was located in a village near the Ebola River from which the disease got its name from.
The most notable widespread epidemic of the virus started in 2013. The virus broke loose in West African countries, and more than 11,000 deaths were accounted to the “hemorrhagic fever”. In 2015, authorities believed themselves free from the problem, but a couple of flare ups prove them wrong.
In response to this, local agencies joined forces with WHO researchers to find a way to contain and treat the disease, and finally, the country can declare free from transmissions after almost three years of hard work.
Community engagement is the key element to prevention
As of now, there are no official cures or vaccines that treat the disease. However, there are a couple of candidates that are under ongoing evaluation. These are great news, but as with any other dangerous virus, prevention is the key.
Animals transmit the Ebola virus that is usually fatal in humans. The CDC identifies monkeys as bats as especially contagious. Once a person is infected, it is in a race against the clock. If untreated, the virus has reported up to 90 percent fatal rate and even when the person receives help the possibilities of dying are still 40 percent, which is still a lot.
Fortunately, modern research has managed to eradicate the problem, but the risks of transmission are still very high. The virus can live in the body fluids of a person that overcame the disease for months. That is why authorities urge ex-patients to be impeccable and clean with their hygiene and use protection when engaging sexual intercourse or rather avoid it at all for at least a year.
The CDC warns about the risks of getting in contact with sick people, dead bodies, blood, or body fluids in general. Even the liquid in the eyes is contagious. The organization also tells people, especially tourists, to avoid bush meat which consists of wild animals hunted for food.
Source: Voice of America