Yesterday I heard that an email was whizzing around claiming the possibility of someone at a clinic in the Southern Suburbs who could possibly have the Ebola Virus! They wanted to quarantine the clinic. Fortunately it was a false alarm. Eye Witness News covered the story:
So what is the Ebola Virus and where does it come from? It’s a disease usually only found in tropical areas of rural West & Central Africa. According to the 
World Health Organisation, the natural host is the fruit bat, which is categorised as a megabat and are sometimes called flying foxes. The Ebola virus can be transmitted from fruit bats to other wild animals, such as chimpanzees, baboons that in turn, can transmit the virus to humans. When people come into contact with the body fluids from infected animals, they run a high risk of getting the virus.
Once a human has contracted the disease, it can be spread from human to human via the blood, saliva, urine and other body fluids. It is 90% fatal, but if a man survives Ebola, he carries the virus in his semen for up to 7 weeks after he has recovered. If a person has a cut, and comes into contact with body fluid from an Ebola sufferer, they could get it. Health workers are at high risk of contracting the disease when they work with patients who have it.
Symptoms are usually sudden and include fever and other flu symptoms such as muscle pain, headache, sore throat and also intense muscle pain. As the disease progresses, the patient gets a rash and suffers from diarrhoea and vomiting as well as signs of problems with their liver and kidneys. The incubation period – that’s from the time the virus enters the blood to the time the symptoms begin, is usually 2-21 days.
A diagnosis is made by ruling out other diseases such as tropical diseases such as malaria, typhoid and cholera (and others). Several laboratory tests need to be done.
The scary part is that while tests for treatment are being done, right now there is no treatment for Ebola Virus.
Prevention is avoiding all contact with the fluids of an Ebola outbreak. If you need to work with them, to make sure you wear protective equipment and not come into contact with any patient’s bodily fluids.
This year the outbreak has been most severe in West Africa. By August 4th, 1711 people had been infected and 932 had died. Ships coming from West Africa and stopping in Cape Town run a risk of bringing the disease to our shores. To that end, authorities have stepped up surveillance to ensure that they are told of any illness on board before the ship arrives. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have been worst affected.
These are poor countries with very little infrastructure and no experience in dealing with the disease. Soldiers are being sent to help fight the disease. One of the biggest ways that it spreads is when local villagers find a dead antelope and then haul it off to feed their family, not knowing that it has died from Ebola. They then get the virus and so it spreads.
In Liberia there are fewer than 200 doctors for 4 million people. In March, when the disease first broke out, 75% of doctors fled, leaving only 50 doctors to cope with all the regular illnesses plus the horrific Ebola outbreak. A short while ago, two American missionaries contracted the disease. They were evacuated from the area and are now recovering from the disease in Atlanta. The two unnamed missionaries were with SIM and Samaritan’s Purse.
Pray for those who are bold enough to enter missions in these areas. The need is great and the workers are few.
Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
Our lives are in God’s hands. The older I get, the more suffering I notice. Keep on Keeping on.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂
Gratitude Pic…on a lighter note…if you ever wanted to lose weight, you may have only wanted a ‘shake’….how’s this for size:
Good to have a sense of humour! 🙂
3 Responses to Ebola in Cape Town False Alarm