How do some people get rid of Ebola?

Two Americans who have been infected with Liberia's Ebola virus have been declared to have been successfully treated and there is no deadly pathogen in the body. The public is very interested in how they have escaped death in the wake of the plague that is killing the lives of more than 50% of infected West Africans.

Ebola is a scary virus, but its infection is not always a death sentence. However, the latest announcement about the two Americans infected with Ebola in Liberia, quarantined for treatment in an Atlanta hospital, is now out of the virus and discharged from the hospital, the rare good news today. One of them, Dr. Kent Brantly, appeared healthy when speaking at a press conference.

The death rate of Ebola in the most serious outbreak of history today is more than 50%, with 2,473 cases and 1,350 deaths. Previous outbreaks had a mortality rate of up to 90%. Therefore, it seems difficult to know how someone can survive the disease that attacks the internal organs and thin blood vessels of people.

However, doctors at Emory University Hospital, where two American patients were treated, stressed, even if the mortality rate for Ebola is very scary, we need to remember that those victims are Poor West African countries - Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria - with relatively weak health care systems. Many patients are concentrated in one place and health care workers do not have adequate protective equipment and resources to provide necessary care for patients, such as isolation procedures. , cleaning cloth, electrolyte and infusion fluid.

Dr. Kent Brantly, a Liberian Ebola virus infection, stood next to his wife at a press conference announcing he escaped a dangerous pathogen at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, USA, on August 21, 2014.(Photo: Reuters)

Meanwhile, some people in the US and elsewhere still find ways to survive this dangerous disease.

There is currently no proven vaccine or Ebola treatment, but some promising drugs are being tested. They include ZMapp, which was secretly sent to Brantly and Nancy Writebol in Liberia. Even so, the doctors said, although they were the first infected people to take the drug, it is not currently possible to confirm how the experimental drug works.

In addition to the experimental drugs, what doctors can provide for Ebola patients is care, like monitoring heart rate, blood pressure and breathing, as well as additional infusion of fluids, which can help The more stable the body is, the better it will fight the virus. The lack of protective equipment and the need for care of patients is so great that such essential care cannot be performed in some areas that are heavily affected by the Ebola epidemic.

When a person is infected with the virus, their immune system starts producing antibodies against it. If the person is healthy enough and their body maintains that strength long enough, his / her immune system can eventually disable and remove the virus itself. Ebola can be detected through blood tests and the results of these tests can be obtained in 1-2 days. Through blood and urine tests, along with the support of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), doctors at Emory said they were able to determine that the virus no longer existed. In the body of two patients, Brantly and Nancy Writebol, and that they no longer have symptoms of Ebola infection for at least 2-3 days.

At present, there are many questions, whether or not two US patients still carry the disease or may still be able to infect others. The doctors at Emory confidently answer no questions to all those trees.

"The general experience is, once they have survived, especially up to this point of the disease, they are no longer infected with the virus; they do not relapse and will not be able to spread the disease to others. We There is no evidence of a carrier status in them . We conclude that they will be immune to this virus (Ebola), " said Dr. Bruce Ribner of Emory University Hospital, affirming at the press conference. recently.

Primarily due to quality care, Brantly and Writebol have survived, raising the belief that the virus can be tamed in patients receiving adequate treatment and care. However, this type of support is not always available in areas where the Ebola epidemic is spreading fastest.

"Please do not stop praying for people in Liberia and West Africa," Mr. Brantly said, urging the world community not to forget those who did not have the opportunity to recover like him.