With the recent localized outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, much information and disinformation has made its way to the Internet and mainstreamed media outlets. Given the foggy haze of reality, I thought it would be helpful to publish a summary of important facts – as the science currently supports – about Ebola: how it is transmitted, treated, and even prevented.
Background
According to the WHO, Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever that, if left untreated, is often fatal (WHO, 2014). Infectious diseases have what are referred to as “incubation periods” that can be defined as the time-lapse between exposure to the infectious agent and first demonstrable symptom of disease. The symptomology of Ebola infection shares attributes with many other infectious diseases, such as fever, fatigue, sore throat, etc. This display of symptoms, similar to other diseases, can make an initial definitive diagnosis difficult. WHO (2014) indicates that suspected Ebola infections are diagnosed as a confirmed case typically using the following methods (taken direct from WHO, 2014):
- Antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
- Antigen-capture detection tests
- Serum neutralization test
- Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay
- Electron microscopy
- Virus isolation by cell culture
Transmission
WHO (2014) indicates that the prevailing thought for transmission is in the blood and meat of contaminated fruit bats or other infected animals in the affected region. Human-to-human transmissions are primarily attributed to an uninfected person coming into direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of an infected person.
To further put things into perspective, the recent image to the right published by authors Murray and Weber (2014), summarizes the reproduction rate (or, number of people likely to be infected after contact with an infected person). It illustrates the likelihood of transmission compared to other common infectious diseases.
As you can see, there is far more risk for contracting polio and whooping cough as compared to Ebola. The underlying fear of transmission may be in the fact that it is a devastating and often untreatable illness. In any case, if proper precautions are taken, as described below, the likelihood of infection is far lower than many other serious infectious diseases (i.e., polio).
Treatments
While there are many experimental products on the horizon, including vaccines and serums, as well as the existing drugs in the “statin” class, there are a few that are being used for the direct treatment of Ebola-infected patients. Below is a summary table of the available treatment options found in literature as of October 9, 2014.
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Prevention
Given the typical modes of transmission, the prevention methods fall into three broad categories per the WHO (2014):
- Reducing wildlife-to-human transmission
- Reducing human-to-human transmission
- Containing outbreaks
References
Chimerix. (2014). Frequently Asked Questions on the Potential use of Brincidofovir in the Ebola Outbreak. Retrieved from http://www.chimerix.com/c/discovery-clinical-trials/brincidofovir-ebola.php on October, 9, 2014
Koons, C., Chen, C., and Langreth, R. (2014). Ebola Drug by Tekmira May Be Used on Infected Patients. Bloomberg News
FDA. (2014). Guidance for Industry Product Development Under the Animal Rule. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/UCM399217.pdf on October 9, 2014.
Murray, M. and Weber, M. (2014). How contagious is Ebola? Retrieved from http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/how-contagious-is-ebola-graphic-of-the-day/ on October 9, 2014
Qiu, X., Wong, G., Audet, J., et al. (2014). Reversion of advanced Ebola virus disease in nonhuman primates with ZMapp. Nature 514 pp. 47-53.
WHO. (2014). Ebola Virus Disease. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/ on October 9, 2014.
Very informative! Thanks.