Ebola virus can be transmitted without external symptoms

In Sierra Leone, there have been many cases of Ebola virus infection but no typical symptoms.

The results of a new study published Nov. 15 show that the risk of the most dangerous disease in West Africa is more serious than previous assessments.

Research by Stanford University scientists (USA) provides more evidence of people infected by Ebola virus does not always have the usual symptoms such as bleeding, nausea, diarrhea and fever.

According to Gene Richardson, a researcher at Stanford University, like many other viruses, Ebola can attack a person but does not show any obvious symptoms.

Sierra Leone medical staff checks the body temperature of passengers in the Liberia border area in Jendema.(Source: AFP / VNA).

Scientists examined 187 people living in the village of Suduku in Sierra Leone, including men, women and children. Selected people are at high risk of infection because of a family member with Ebola or shared toilet use with a person infected with the virus.

The results showed that 14 people were not on the list of people who had the disease but brought in the antibodies against Ebola virus , proving that they had the time of infection. Twelve people said they had no symptoms of Ebola while the two had a fever at the time of the outbreak.

Based on this result, experts estimate that about 25% of Suduku villagers have Ebola but are not detected due to the absence of external symptoms.

The study also provides important evidence that a significant proportion of cases of infection during the outbreak have not been detected, and cases of human-to-human transmission are much more than those of estimate.

Since the outbreak of the outbreak in late 2013, the Ebola virus epidemic has caused about 28,000 people to be infected and more than 11,000 people have died, mainly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.