What is the Ebola virus?
What is the Ebola virus and what does it do?
PORTLAND, Ore. – Four people are being monitored by public health officials from Oregon after being potentially exposed to Ebola during a recent visit to Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a press release from the Oregon Health Authority.
West African countries are facing an Ebola outbreak, but health officials believe that the four people who recently returned to the United States are considered to be at low risk.
“We want to ensure that these individuals have the support they need to monitor their health, stay in touch with public health officials and obtain safe help with medical services, if applicable,” said Dr. Richard Leman, chief medical officer health security, preparedness and response in the Public Health Division of the OHA.
The Ebola virus is highly contagious and can be contracted through body fluids, such as vomiting, blood or semen.
FILE – Color scanning electron micrograph of a single filamentous particle of the Ebola virus.
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“Symptoms can appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after contact with the virus, with an average of 8 to 10 days. The course of the disease usually progresses from symptoms of ‘drought’ initially (such as fever, pain and fatigue) , and then progresses to ‘wet’ symptoms (such as diarrhea and vomiting) as the person gets sicker, “according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although ebola is rare, if not treated quickly, it is deadly.
There are currently 18 active cases of Ebola in Guinea to date, according to the World Health Organization’s chief of emergency, Dr. Michael Ryan. Recent cases are believed to have been triggered by a survivor of the devastating Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014.
Ryan said that a small proportion of people end up carrying the virus, but it is not infectious to other people, “except in very specific circumstances”.
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WHO has sent more than 30,000 doses of vaccines to Guinea and vaccine shipments and additional therapeutic support have been forwarded to DCR. The Ebola outbreak that swept West Africa from 2014 to 2016 ended up killing more than 11,000 people. “More studies are needed,” said Ryan. But he added that, based on available genetic sequencing data, the current outbreak is unlikely to be related to an animal – which is how almost all previous Ebola epidemics started.
“(That) is much more likely to be linked to a persistence (of viruses) or latency of infection in a human.” Ryan said it will probably be the longest period that a virus has persisted between outbreaks.
In February, the DRC health ministry declared its 12th Ebola outbreak in the Biena Health Zone, North Kivu province, according to the CDC.
So far, 12 cases of Ebola and six Ebola-related deaths have been reported in the DCR.
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“As of March 4, the CDC has required all airlines to provide contact information for all travelers to the USA who have been to Guinea or the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the past 21 days – the longest incubation period known for Ebola “, according to the news release.
The CDC also issued a Level 3 travel advice for both countries, discouraging any non-essential travel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.