Human beings have named themselves the king of all things. However, when human beings step into places in Africa that have never been favored by modern civilization, some mysterious species with a size of only a few tens of nanometers suddenly appear and ruthlessly ravage human beings. Our civilization and lives sometimes look like porcelain plates piled up high, and breaking is not far away.
Without knowing the host, no vaccine, no curable drug, and the extremely horrible mode and speed of transmission, Ebola virus floated in Africa like a ghost, with 23 outbreaks from 1976 to 2012.
In July 2014, Ebola virus broke out again in West Africa. Up to now, the number of infections and deaths has exceeded any previous one, and it continues to spread with no sign of being controlled.
Ebola Virus in 2014
According to WHO official website data, as of July 27, 2014, a total of 1,323 people had been infected (including suspected) with Ebola hemorrhagic fever in West Africa, 729 of whom died.
The epidemic involves four West African countries: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, with Guinea having the largest number of deaths (339) and Sierra Leone having the largest number of infections (533).
However, there may be huge errors in the above statistics, The reason is that rumors are rife in Sierra Leone, [Ebola virus does not exist, It is just an excuse for human beings to kill each other. People in the hospital eat people, doctors are spreading the virus…], thousands of people besieged the hospital, and some villages are forbidden to rescue workers to enter. These non-cooperation is likely to lead to underreporting of the epidemic. Moreover, due to panic, many case samples have not been delivered, and specimens cannot be sent to laboratories with testing conditions. Underreporting is inevitable.
Judging from the statistical data, the epidemic situation is accelerating and the disaster will expand.
A tourist returning from Kenya was quarantined due to fever, dizziness and vomiting. Today, he reported that his Ebola virus test was negative.
Sheik Umar Khan, a Sierra Leonean doctor who led the fight against Ebola, died on July 29 after dozens of local health workers had died as a result of ineffective treatment due to Ebola infection.
U.S. Doctor Kent Brantly and missionary Nancy Writebol were quarantined for Ebola infection. The situation is very not optimistic. Dr. Kent Brantly allegedly followed strict safe procedures and the route of infection is currently unknown.
West Africa has issued a travel ban, most border crossings have been closed and most flights have been grounded. U.S. Peacekeeping forces have also decided to withdraw completely from West Africa.
In West Africa, the health environment is extremely poor, the medical conditions are extremely poor, and the experience in fighting Ebola is very little. Superstition, rumors and non-cooperation are pervasive among the people … This is simply a cursed land.
Understanding Ebola Virus
[Ebola] is the name of a river in northern Zaire (i.e. Democratic Republic of Congo). In 1976, an unknown virus infection broke out in the area for the first time, causing 55 villages along the river to almost become extinct, hence the name [Ebola virus].
Ebola virus includes Zaire Ebola virus, Sudan Ebola virus, Reston Ebola virus, Tay Forest Ebola virus and Bundibugio Ebola virus.
All types of Ebola virus can infect humans and cause similar symptoms, However, the progress of the diseases they cause and the virulence of the viruses vary. The death rate of Ebola virus in Bundibugio is less than 40%, The death rate of Ebola virus in Zaire is about 50%, while that of Ebola virus in Sudan is 70%-90%. The virulence of Ebola virus in Tay Forest is difficult to assess because only one case of infection has occurred. At present, the only confirmed Asian virus species is Reston Ebola virus, but it does not seem to show symptoms after infecting humans.
The Ebola virus is so destructive that the biological community has determined its biosafety level to be level 4 (SARS is level 3, the higher the level, the more dangerous it is). There are not many laboratories in the world that have this safety level to carry out relevant research.
So far, the medical profession has not determined the intermediate host of Ebola virus. None of these outbreaks has been able to locate the source of the virus.
The deadly Ebola virus
Patients infected with Ebola virus initially show non-specific symptoms, such as fever, vomiting and severe diarrhea. Then they quickly develop various tissue damages, internal hemorrhage, external hemorrhage and multiple organ failure, which are extremely tragic and horrible (it is strongly recommended that you do not search Google for relevant pictures). The time from fever to death is very short, which is both a bad and a good thing.
It is a bad thing, of course, because of the lethality of the virus. It is a good thing that the virus kills people quickly. In Africa, it often leads to the rapid collective destruction of entire villages and thus no longer spreads outward.
Of course, the virus will mutate. If the incubation period is prolonged and the death process of infected persons is slower after mutation, the transmission consequences will be very serious, especially if the virus comes to a city with a population of 10 million, it is creepy to think about it.
There have been many rumors in history about attempts to use Ebola virus as a biological weapon. For example, Ebola was a biological weapon used by the United States against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. For example, there are evil virologists who are trying to combine Ebola and smallpox viruses to create the above-mentioned new virus with a slower death process, which is convenient for wider spread. For example, Japanese leader Shoko Asahara of Aum Shinrikyo once led 40 members to Zaire in the hope of obtaining the virus as a massacre tool.
The way terror spreads
No matter how high the death rate of a virus is, it is not frightening. What really makes human beings tremble is the mode of transmission of the virus. Ebola virus has an extremely horrible mode of transmission. The infected American doctors mentioned above are supposed to strictly follow the safety protection operation procedures, but they are still unfortunately caught.
Naturally, blood transmission goes without saying that all kinds of body fluids and secretions of infected people and their contaminated environment may become transmission routes. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University in the United States, believes that Ebola virus is very dangerous, and even if the protection is perfect, there is still a risk of infection.
The persistence of medical staff in such difficult times is actually a hand-to-hand fight between life and death. U.S. Peacekeeping troops have all withdrawn from West Africa. Doctors Without Borders and the Hong Kong Red Cross still decide to continue to persist.
Incurable Ebola
Without vaccines, Without medication, people infected with [Ebola] will melt in front of you just like those who have been hit by the bone in the Duke of Mount Deer. Isolation is the most effective method, but the main purpose is to prevent the virus from spreading to others. This is also why some infected people refuse to go to the hospital and prefer to die at home, of course they do not know how many people will be harmed.
There are a few words of nonsense, but every time an epidemic occurs, it has to be repeated: whether it is the most common flu or the most frightening Ebola virus, Isatis root what’s sincerity is useless.
In Sierra Leone, a patient was snatched from the hospital by his family to seek treatment from [natural therapists]. Sierra Leone’s health and defense department went crazy and used all its strength to search the country. The patient eventually died and many people were infected by him in the process.
Without treatment, rapid diagnosis and isolation are very important. Diagnostic techniques are not complicated (RT-PCR), but they are not easy in Africa.
Ebola Virus in China
The Wuhan Institute of Viruses of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Huazhong Agricultural University have jointly detected Reston Ebola virus antibodies in bat sera in China, which indicates that the virus may have spread to China for some time. Fortunately, this type is not too harmful to human beings at present.
As the final host of Ebola, human beings are the main route for the large-scale spread of the disease. All ports in our country have also raised their alert levels, not only for Ebola virus from West Africa, but also for Middle East respiratory syndrome and poliomyelitis that occurred in West Asia and the Middle East some time ago.
Hong Kong’s determination to isolate and observe hot travellers from Africa yesterday is commendable. Although the passenger has been basically ruled out Ebola virus infection by testing afterwards. At present, the virus is still in West Africa, and only one case has occurred in Nigeria. Therefore, we are safe at present. Grandparents should not be busy buying salt and hoarding vinegar. Just dance in the square and wish you good health.
Author: Zhang Jin