Reasons why Ebola virus is more dangerous than HIV virus

People with HIV can live for many years if they are given medication, but any case of contact with an infected person is almost like a death sentence.

Unlike other viruses such as hepatitis A, B, C . can be in the infected body for 15 years without any symptoms, Ebola virus with symptoms including bleeding in the mouth and back subject, can kill victims in just a few days.

A professor of epidemiology and public health science at Ilorin University, Kwara (Nigeria), Tanimola Akande, described the Ebola virus - the virus that is devastating Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and killed a nurse in Nigeria, is the biggest health challenge of the present sub-regions.

Akande said that the mechanism of disease transmission is a major reason Ebola is the most dangerous virus."Ebola does not have a cure is not the reason it is dangerous. HIV has not been cured but it has not killed all the victims if it is properly controlled. Ebola is more dangerous because it is very susceptible. It is in all Both human body fluids are infected and spread through saliva, blood, sweat, sperm, waste, and body tissues, which can be infected by touching surfaces of infected people. " he said.

Photo: wunc.org

In addition, the natural host of Ebola is a raven bat that feeds on fruit, chimpanzees and other forest animals used by many people as a daily food. You can get it through contact with the blood of infected animals. Any virus that can be infected through food has the potential to take many lives.

Disease caused by Ebola virus is very difficult to recognize symptoms because it is similar to other common diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, typhoid fever . Many health workers may have been exposed to infected patients. This disease does not know.

"When a patient comes to the hospital and tells symptoms like fever, headache, muscle ache . the doctor may not wear gloves or protect them when treating them and you become infected before you know it is Ebola " Dr. Akande said.

To prevent transmission, Akande recommends that Nigerians stop eating meat and wash their hands and fruits before eating. He also advised health care workers to wear protective clothing when examining and treating patients.

People are afraid of HIV / AIDS, but Ebola is more dangerous than HIV / AIDS. People with HIV can live for many years if they are given medication, but any case of contact with people with Ebola is almost death sentence because the virus does not have vaccines and preventive medicine. The best way to do it is to try to relieve the disease.

The reason Ebola virus is more dangerous than other viruses:

- Low survival rate: The chance of survival is almost zero, especially in Africa. It kills 90% of infected people. Death is certain if the patient is bleeding. Causing bleeding is the "brand" of Ebola.

From a medical point of view, anyone infected with this disease should be isolated - waiting for death. It kills people faster than AIDS and equally dramatic. The dead cannot be buried in the usual way because dead or alive patients are capable of transmitting the disease.

- Almost no cure: Currently there is no medicine or treatment or vaccine to prevent the disease. There are 4 different viruses that cause this disease. There are several drugs for HIV / AIDS patients to help them prolong their lives and have a better quality of life. The treatment used for Ebola is just for the sick to go away with more pain and serenity. Antiviral drugs are of no value.

- Very contagious: HIV / AIDS is transmitted through blood contact or sex, Ebola only needs to be exposed to infected bodies. The risk of HIV infection is highest among sex workers and gay men, while those at greatest risk of Ebola are health workers, relatives and friends of patients. Monkey hunters, bats and meat eaters should also be careful.

- You have no specific way to protect yourself: There are several ways to prevent HIV / AIDS. There are also a number of ways to prevent malaria but there is no specific, clear way to prevent Ebola. You are advised to wash your hands often with soap and water, avoid contact with infected people (and their secretions, blood), avoid contact with people who have been in contact with the sick person. All ways to prevent disease only by hygiene.

Why is Ebola outbreak happening so dangerous?

There are 5 types of Ebola virus. The current outbreak (Zaire ebolavirus) kills nearly 80% of cases. One of the main reasons why Ebola virus is particularly dangerous is that they seem to be able to avoid the human immune system. Among other things, white blood cells from the immune system often die slowly in Ebola patients. If the body is completely unable to resist, the virus will continue to attack more broadly.

Social and political factors also contribute to the current Ebola disaster. This is a major Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many health workers in this area have never experienced or been trained to protect themselves or take care of patients. In addition, people in these countries tend to move more than in Central Africa (where epidemics occur), causing geographically dispersed viruses and making it difficult to track people who may be infected. sick.

Meanwhile, social stigma and poor awareness can make many people not go to medical examination (even try to avoid). Some people who come into direct contact with the body when holding a funeral or preparing for burial can also spread the disease, an editorial in the medical journal Lancet said.

According to the New York Times, in some countries where there are outbreaks, some people fear that health workers have caused Ebola and threatened them with knives, stones . or using hostile attitude to surround his car. , doctors . Humanitarian groups Borderless doctors also recorded 12 Guinea villages with Ebola but not safe for health workers. In Sierra Leone, there was a protest against a hospital that forced police to use tear gas. Assessment of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Liberia shows that the problem of monitoring the contact of patients with others is also difficult because of the existence of resistance and non-cooperation in the community. Inadequate measures to prevent and control infection, weak data management, poor steering and coordination also make the epidemic worse.

The worrying of Ebola outbreaks in West Africa is not only because of the most and most dangerous people but also by many health workers who lost their lives when caring for patients.

Up to now, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of health workers dying in Ebola epidemic is 60 people. In the second largest outbreak in history, occurring in 1976 in Zaire, only 11 health workers died. It was the first outbreak in history, when measures to prevent the spread of the virus have not yet been established.

The reasons why many doctors died in this outbreak:

- In 1976, the death toll was 280 out of 138 reported cases. In 2014, 729 people died out of 1,323 recorded cases. Thus, the number of Ebola deaths in 2014 was 4 times higher than in 1976.

- The geographical area is more widely dispersed: In the past, it only happened in a remote area. Currently, Ebola has spread in both urban and rural Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria countries. So the number of people affected is much higher and therefore the proportion of health workers affected is also higher.

- Lack of medical equipment: Health workers are advised to wear masks, glasses, gowns, and gloves when taking care of Ebola-infected patients. But the problem is that physicians work in developing countries, especially those working in the poorest countries on earth - where the epidemic is going on - not always accessible to items. This labor protection. Therefore, they can be infected and die. In all cases the doctor died without anyone from abroad. Foreign aid organizations such as the Doctors Without Borders apply strict precautions to all employees, so they do not suffer any loss.

Even if medical workers in epidemic countries are well-prevented and equipped since Ebola started, they are still at risk. At that time, doctors did not know whether the deadly virus hid in their patients, especially those who exhibited only the common flu-like symptoms.

Things to know about Ebola translation:

Ebola virus has not changed much since appearing:

The current Ebola virus has been known before and has not changed significantly, compared to when it was first discovered in 1976.

Some viruses can change significantly over the years, including the influenza virus and the SARS virus. In this case, preventive health professionals always consider whether there is any change in the virus's other attack mechanisms. But Ebola is not among these.

Ebola spreads through close contact

It is impossible to determine who can get Ebola in a simple way like traveling on a plane or in a public space with an infected person. Because Ebola does not circulate in the air like influenza viruses or other respiratory diseases.

To get Ebola, you must be exposed to body fluids (such as sweat, vomit, blood, urine, semen) of the sick, both alive and dead. Ebola can live on a surface for at least 7 days, you can be exposed to the disease if you touch the bed or other things containing fluid from the body. After that, you can put the virus in your body when you touch the food and eat it.

People with Ebola generally don't spread the disease until they get sick:

When there are symptoms such as fever, body aches or vomiting, people with Ebola can spread the disease. There is no way healthy people carry germs and spread disease to others. However, early signs of disease are difficult to distinguish, often like other diseases such as influenza and diarrhea. Some of the more common symptoms of Ebola such as bleeding from openings in the body usually do not occur until later and sometimes not.

People with Ebola can survive:

The current Ebola epidemic has a survival rate of about 40% and good medical care can help patients overcome the disease.

The epidemic is now getting worse because it happens in a place with poor health facilities

Countries in the epicenter - Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone are among the poorest countries in the world. The average GDP per capita of all three countries is lower than Haiti. Health care coverage is very small, ranging from $ 40 to $ 100 per person per year. Health infrastructure is weak, so it is not surprising that reports show that health workers lose faith and fear, even flee when outbreaks occur. Therefore, a lot of work against Ebola in West Africa has played the role of non-governmental organizations like Doctors without borders.

Ebola can flare up in random countries but doesn't mean disaster:

The recent high rate of international travel may cause Ebola to spread from one country to another according to people's movements. But it does not mean that the epidemic will explode in the new location. This depends on how the preventive health system there is prepared to deal with the epidemic.

For example, while the Middle East had hundreds of fatal MERS infections, two people brought the virus into the US in May but they did not spread it and the epidemic did not occur in the United States.