Why do people still escape the Ebola death even though they are infected?

According to the latest information, the deadly Ebola virus killed 1,013 people and increased the number of infected people to 1,848.

Basically, Ebola is a common infectious disease and has claimed thousands of lives since it was discovered in 1976 in Zaire, Democratic Republic of Congo.

This dreaded epidemic in 1976 was marked as one of humankind's worst epidemics when Ebola virus spread to 2,400 people and a third of them died.

Ebola outbreaks in Sudan and Congo in 1976 were not the last infection. Many small Ebola epidemics have been around since 1976 and have rebounded strongly in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1995, with 315 cases of infection.

Between 2000 and 2001, Uganda recorded 425 cases of Ebola virus infection, the Democratic Republic of Congo with 264 cases of Ebola pandemic only in 2007.

It can be seen that the number of deaths in each outbreak is quite high but there are still survivors. One of the survivors of the Ebola epidemic in 1976 was Dr. Thomas Cairns. Back then, he was a young doctor doing missionary work in the forests of Zaire.

He was infected by a patient who was admitted to a hospital emergency in a critical situation. Thomas Cairns shared: "A few days after the patient died, I began to develop illness. I had a high fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, red rash on my skin. My skin became flaky. Me I had one-ear hearing loss, my hair became white . It seems like I don't understand what's going on now. "

Photo of Thomas Cairns - who was lucky to escape the "scythe of Death Ebola" in the 1976 epidemic.

But it was strange, after being separated and cared for by medical doctors. Cairns has gradually recovered. Thomas Cairns was stronger, the rash was also good and he could walk on his feet. Many doctors were surprised at Thomas Cairns ' " resurgence" because most people with the same symptoms as Thomas Cairns died.

After returning to normal, Thomas Cairns did not understand for what reason he was. He felt he was extremely lucky when the body had high antibody levels, enough to "defeat" the Ebola virus.

Besides Thomas Cairns, there are also many documented cases of surviving another outbreak of Ebola in Africa. Although experts have not been able to explain what antibody mechanism each person is able to fight against the Ebola virus, there have been some basic remarks that explain why the old disease is more easily controlled.

The first is due to moderate population density. According to experts, moderate population density will make doctors better able to control and control the disease situation.

Because of the faster urbanization process, the current Ebola epidemic is losing control. At the same time, the current health infrastructure in West Africa is not guaranteed and does not meet the conditions to prevent Ebola before it breaks out.

Besides, the survival rate of patients infected with Ebola is different, depending on the type of virus infected. According to the survey, most of the previous Ebola outbreaks, patients infected with Sudanese virus strains Ebola virus - with a death rate of 42 to 56%.

Meanwhile, the death rate of patients when infected with Zaire Ebola virus - the most dangerous strain - will have a mortality rate as high as 89%.

However, according to experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), the current Ebola epidemic has a survival rate of about 40%. In adequate medical conditions, the patient's body has good resistance, they are still able to overcome the disease.