A rare, but very serious disease thatthreatens not only health, but also the lives of people in Africa and other countries - Ebola. When infected with this virus, death may reach 90%. While there is no official vaccine, however, scientists are progressively acting in this direction, and what they came to, we learn from this article. We will also find out the symptoms of this fever, preventive measures and, of course, when you can still expect the appearance of a drug against Ebola in Russia and the world.
Ways of infection
This illness can overtake a person in such situations:
- If he was in contact with the affected face (there was contact with blood, tears, sperm, saliva).
- Scientists and doctors even say that after the death of a person, you can become infected by contact with bodily fluids.
- If he has been in contact with a sick animal, most often it is a monkey or a bat.
This disease enters the body through mucous membranes and damaged skin, enters the blood, and after a few days (from 2 to 21 days the incubation period lasts), the disease begins to manifest itself.
Symptomatology
Ebola vaccine is a cure forfevers, and scientists are still trying to make a drug against pathogens, but this is too early to say, because the ideal option at the moment have not yet found. But let us dwell on the symptoms of this disease, which are expressed in the following:
- There is a fever, weakness, chills, headache, vomiting, diarrhea.
- After the first symptoms appear additional: dry cough, colic in the chest.
- After 5-6 days, there are signs of dehydration, the liver and kidneys are disturbed.
- Dark rash is another non-persistent symptom of the Ebola virus.
- The presence of bleeding from the nose and mouth - these figures are in 50% of patients.
Unfortunately, death occurs very often already on the 8–10th day due to renal failure and cerebral edema.
How to protect yourself?
Since the protection against Ebola is a vaccine -not yet withdrawn, it follows that there are no specific measures aimed at preventing or eliminating this ailment. Therefore, it is necessary to protect yourself and your family from possible infection, and for this you should use these tips:
- It is better to avoid visiting those countries in which outbreaks of this disease are recorded.
- People who are still on suchterritories, must comply with personal hygiene, refrain from contact with animals (most often infected from monkeys and bats), as well as with sick people.
- It is necessary to wear a face mask, long-sleeved clothing and gloves if the person cares for the affected person.
- When the first signs of illness appear during21 days after a trip to Africa, an urgent need to seek help from specialists, tell the doctor about the time and place of stay abroad, tell about possible contact with animals, sick people.
Until the vaccine is withdrawn, the prevention of this dangerous ailment is the only chance for salvation.
How is the treatment of fever in the world?
First you need to warndehydration. To do this, the fluid is replenished intravenously or orally. If there is such a need, then respiratory support and homeostatic therapy are additionally carried out. Pharmacological companies did not manufacture the Ebola virus vaccine, as it turned out to be unprofitable for them because of the small market for the drug.
However, this issue was still given duenote: several US companies have developed the drug and conducted his successful experiments on animals. But this fact was not initially made public, since the United States authorities believed that this virus could be used as a biological weapon. Therefore, the Department of Defense of America and the National Institute of Health conducted their own experiments.
At present, the anti-fever drug Ebola (a vaccine, as experts say) is being tested on animals, and it is not yet known when it will be specifically applied to people.
Why still have not released a cure for this type of virus?
Pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to manufacturedrug for the poor, because for such corporations, the market seems small. These firms considered that the Ebola vaccine would not bring them profit. They argue their arguments as follows: a fever outbreak was registered only in small territories, and then within Africa. They also believe that people from other continents will not affect this disease. And, of course, the infected population is people who live in the poorest areas of Africa, which means they cannot pay for a new vaccine. Therefore, pharmaceutical corporations find this market unpromising. Huge enterprises will wait for the fever to reach other continents, spread throughout the world. And it’s not accepted to voice what they want: corporations need a moment when a sufficient number of potential buyers from Europe, the USA, Australia, South America are infected.
There is an exit?
But how to prevent the penetration of this feverto other continents so that it does not destroy people? Now we need to wait for financial support from developed countries or hope that these leading states of the world will still be able to negotiate with the provisional corporations for damages for the production of a drug for Africa that cannot pay for itself, and the Ebola vaccine is not available to it.
But still there are states that somehowsomething to help poor people from the hot continent. Great Britain took an active position, which allocated more than 100 million pounds sterling for this purpose. With this money, the authorities decided to send 750 soldiers to Africa, about 1,000 medical personnel, who would provide the necessary assistance to victims of the Ebola virus.
America also supports the inhabitants of this continent, the authorities sent their people to Liberia. The French government decided to help people from Guinea, where there are also outbreaks of this fever.
However, these actions are only invaluable, but still a drop in the ocean. In the meantime, rich powers are looking for money to produce the drug from this fever, the people of Africa are dying before their eyes.
Conducting experiments in Russia
A vaccine against the virus is also being created in our country.Ebola According to the Minister of Health of Russia Veronika Skvortsova, in 2015, directions for the development of four drugs that can defeat the virus will develop. The vaccine will be made from the "killed" strain of Ebola, and the other three will be genetically engineered. The drugs will be inactivated, that is, "lifeless."
Also in.Skvortsova told the good news that Russian scientists had developed a new medicine called “Triazaverin” in the form of capsules. This drug is very effective in dealing with the fever of Marburg, which is similar to Ebola disease. Therefore, now this drug is also being tested on virus strains imported from African countries.
When to wait for the drug in Russia?
While we have nothing to fear, because there was not yetcases that the country has penetrated the Ebola virus. Vaccine in Russia may be ready by 2016. The Ministry of Health informed the public about this. But, besides the fact that it is already available, it also needs time to fulfill a number of requirements. It is necessary to obtain permits for its use on a person. So far, preclinical tests have been carried out, and a dossier will be compiled from their results. Scientists plan that in March, Russia will be able to inform WHO about the possible use of the vaccine in humans. After that, the World Health Organization should make public its recommendations and designate the country where the next stage of the study will take place. Therefore, it’s too early to talk about vaccinating people, because there is still a lot to be done on the way to victory over this African fever.
Ebola Facts
1. Why such a name? The fever has received the name from a place in which it has found for the first time. The Ebola River (in the Republic of the Congo) is located near the point where the first case was recorded.
2. Start of infection. There is evidence that in Africa this epidemic has spread from animals, in particular, from Krylan. People ate poorly roasted meat and thus became infected.
3. The first flash. In 1975 there was a case of this virus, and it was in the Republic of the Congo. Then 318 people were infected, 280 of them died.
4. Current statistics. In August 2014, 1779 cases of the disease were reported by this virus, 961 were fatal.
Now you know what constitutesfever that rages in West Africa, and understand how dangerous it is for humans. Ebola vaccine is being developed by several countries, including Russia, but so far it is still being tested on animals. And so that the fever does not reach the inhabitants of other continents, the world community needs to “wake up” and understand how this disease can easily penetrate into any country. So far there is no cure for this disease, so it remains to observe only elementary preventive measures in order not to get infected with the Ebola virus.
