A Comprehensive Look at the Ebola Virus

A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT THE EBOLA VIRUS 2014 has seen the worst outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in history, with WHO reporting more than 1,700 cases worldwide (as of August this year). In this infographic we take an in-depth look at the virus (formerly known as Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever) and its history, origin, genus, transmission, symptoms, fatality rate and treatment. All information is correct as of mid August 2014. Data sources include the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the BBC, The Guardian and other high profile news outlets. Disease Origin The disease first appeared in 1976 in Africa, with two simultaneous outbreaks: Nzara - South Sudan Sudan saw the world's first outbreak of Ebola (Ebola-Sudan), infecting more than 284 people MORTALITY RATE: 53% Yambuku - People's Democratic Republic of Congo A few months later, the second Ebola virus (EBOZ) emerged from Yambuku, infecting 318 people MORTALITY RATE: 88% *The latter outbreak was in a village situated near the Ebola river, from which the disease takes its name History of Ebola Outbreaks Ebola cases between 1976 and 2014, with the number of deaths and infections 2000 Cases Deaths *2014 data correct as of 14th August 2014. The figures for 2014 will no doubt continue to rise. **On 8th August 2014, WHO declared an international emergency in relation to the ebola outbreak, with officials saying a co-ordinated response was essential to stop and reverse the spread ot the virus 1500 The number of cases and deaths has been listed for the biggest outbreaks 1000 500 The 2014 Ebola Crisis Four countries in West Africa have confirmed cases of the Ebola virus Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria are the four main counties involved in the 2014 outbreak: Guinea Suspected and confirmed case count: 670 (14/08/2014) Suspected and confirmed case deaths: 377 LITY RATE: 56% Sierra Leone Suspected and confirmed case count: 783 (14/08/2014) Suspected and confirmed case deaths: 334 MORTALITY RATE: 42% Liberia Suspected and confirmed case count: 670 (14/08/2014) Suspected and confirmed case deaths: 355 MORTALITY RATE: 52% Nigeria Suspected and confirmed case count: 12 (14/08/2014) Suspected and confirmed case deaths: 3 The majority of cases have come from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, but concerns are growing over the spread of the virus in Nigeria MORTALITY RATE: 25% "Source: COC, Accessed eth Aug 2014 There has been a sharp rise in cases in the first half of August. Here is the increase over time of cases and deaths during the 2014 outbreak: Cases Deaths 1500 The outbreak began in March, with the first case reported in Guinea. Since then the number of cases and deaths have risen at an alarming rate 1000 500 April May June July August Virus Transmission Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluid of infected animals. In Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of the following infected animals found ill or dead in the rainforest: Chimpanzees Gorillas Fruit Bats Monkeys Forest Antelope Porcupines Ebola then spreads in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or muscous membrane) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluid of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids. The following are the most common methods of EVD transmission between people: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Contact with infected saliva / sweat Contact with infected Contact with infected Contact with an Contact with Unprotected sex with an infected person infected infected stool or urine blood deady body medical items Symptoms of Infection EVD is a secure acute viral illness often characterised by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, joint and muscle pain, sore throat and headache. This is then followed by more severe complications. The full list of potential symptoms includes: Headache Fever Sore Throat Red Eyes Cough Difficulty Swallowing Difficulty Breathing Chest Pain Joint and Muscle Pain Skin Rash Diarrhoea Stomach Pain Lack of Appetite Vomiting Internal and External Bleeding Feeling of Weakness | Symptom presents in most patients Symptom may appear in some patients Early stages of infection Later stages of infection Diagnosis and Treatment EVD diagnosis requires ruling out other diseases, these may include: malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, cholera, leptospirosis, plague, rickettsiosis, relapsing fever, meningitis, hepatitis and other viral haemorrhagic fevers. Once these have been ruled out, Ebola virus infections can be diagnosed definitively in a laboratory through several types of tests: Antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Antigen detection tests Serum neutralisation test Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay Electron microscopy Virus isolation by cell culture To confirm the diagnosis blood test samples are tested for viral antibodies, viral RNA, or the virus itself There is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment available for Ebola. Several vaccines are currently being tested, but none are available for clinical use. New drug therapies are also being evaluated. The lack of vaccines or specific treatments is part of what makes the mortality rate so high, with the death rate from Ebola ranging from 20% to 90%, depending on the strain. The course of treatment for infected patients is, generally speaking, as follows: Hospitalisation of patient, likely in intensive care. Supportive measures for shock will be used to treat patient There will be an Isolation of infected attempt to correct bleeding patients, destruction of infected tissues abnormalities, which and extreme care in may include platelet transfusion handling contaminated materials / equipment Potential of Spreading Internationally There are major concerns that the EVD outbreak could spread - particularly to Europe and the United States. But how likely is this? What are the chances of a major global pandemic? The main concern centres around air travel, which is thought to the primary potential route for the virus to spread across international and conintental borders. Here are the final destinations of airline travelers departing from Guinea, Libera and Sierra Leone in the month of August (by WHO region): W. Pacific S. E. Asia 1.1% Americas E. Med Europe 29.6% Africa 4.5% 3.1% 6.5% 55.2% The figures show that travel from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia within the continent of Africa is much more prevalent than travel elsewhere. This - coupled with with the fact that outbreaks persist in countries with poor sanitation and a shortage of resources to contain them (rather than resource-rich places like the US and the UK) - leaves public health officials relatively unconcerned about Ebola becoming a big problem in the developed world. Far more concerning is the potential of the disease spreading within Africa, which is what public health officials are really worried about. Sources: who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease who.int/ith/updates/20140421/en/ cdc.gow/mmwr/pre-view/mmwrhtm/mm6325a4.html emedicine.medscape.com/article/216288-clinical theguardian.comvglobal-develpment/2014/jun/23/west-africa-ebola-epidemic-out-of-control msf.org/article/operation-update-ebola-outbreak-west-africa bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28702356 web.stanford.edu/group/virus/filo/history.html nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/31/world/africa/ebola-virus-outbreak-ga.html myvmc.com/diseases/ebola-virus-ebola-hemorrhagic-fever/ online.wsj.com/articles/nigerian-health-minister-says-nurse-died-of-ebola-1407325187 cbc.ca/news/health/ebola-outbreak-high-death-toll-among-health-worker-1st-responders-1.2732076 npr.org/blogs/health/2014/06/25/324941229/could-the-ebola-outbreak-spread-to-europe-or-the-us Vox.com/2014/8/6/5971675/where-ebola-outbreak-will-go-next-africa BUY loans 32 Deaths 1994 315 Cases 254 Deaths 1995 | 966 425 Cases 224 Deaths 0007 2001-2 S007 413 Cases 224 Deaths 2014 ,975 Cases 1069 Deaths