Ebola Virus a new terror agent: Dengue like illness with rabies like mortality People often panic if they have been bitten or stung. You should tell the patient that many snakes, spiders, insects and sea creatures are harmless and that even the bites and stings of dangerous animals often do not cause poisoning. Keep the patient calm and still. Moving the bitten or stung limb speeds up the spread of venom to the rest of the body. Fear and excitement also make the patient worse. The patient should be told not to use the limb and to keep it still and below the level of the heart. The limb may swell after a while, so take off the patient’s rings, watch, bracelets, anklets and shoes as soon as possible. A splint and a sling may help to keep the limb still. Avoid doing the following: 1. The filoviruses, Marburg and Ebola, are among the most virulent human pathogens. 2. Case fatality rates are 80 to 90 percent. 3. Ebola viruses are also classified as hemorrhagic fever viruses based on their clinical manifestations, which include coagulation defects, a capillary leak syndrome, and shock. 4. Other types of viral HF include Rift Valley fever, Crimean–Congo HF, Lassa fever, yellow fever, and dengue HF. 5. The filoviruses, Marburg and Ebola, are among the most virulent human pathogens, causing severe hemorrhagic fever that resembles fulminant septic shock. 6. Person–to–person transmission requires direct contact with blood or other virus-containing body fluids. 7. The reservoir host of the filoviruses is not known. 8. Various bat species may serve as a source of infection for both humans and wild primates. 9. Flavi viruses cause extensive tissue damage 10. They also induce a systemic inflammatory syndrome by causing the release of cytokines, chemokines, and other proinflammatory mediators from infected macrophages. 11. The incubation period is usually 5 to 7 days, but may exceed two weeks. 12. Patients usually have an abrupt onset of non–specific symptoms, such as fever, malaise, and myalgias. 13. As the illness progresses, patients develop worsening prostration, stupor, and hypotension. 14. Signs of impaired coagulation generally remain limited to conjunctival hemorrhages, easy bruising, and failure of venipuncture sites to clot. 15. Due to their virulence, stability as aerosols, and high infectivity, Marburg and Ebola viruses are classified as Category A bioterror agents. 16. The occurrence of even a single human infection outside of Africa is therefore a public health emergency requiring immediate investigation, since it could represent the leading edge of an impending outbreak. 17. Rapid diagnostic tests for Marburg and Ebola virus infection have been developed, based on the detection of viral antigens by enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or specific RNA sequences by reverse–transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) in blood or other body fluids. The diagnosis is confirmed through cell culture. 18. NO specific therapy is available for patients who have developed Ebola or Marburg hemorrhagic fever; care is supportive. 19. Health care workers should employ isolation and barrier procedures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization when caring for patients with suspected or known filovirus infection. 20. Platelets count may fall and SGOT may be more than SGPT as seen in dengue fever.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 04:20:33 +0000
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