By July , the outbreak had reached beyond the borders of Guinea and spread to the neighboring countries of Liberia and Sierra Leone. This was the first time in recorded history that the virus spread from a rural area to urban centers, where it's much easier for an infection to spread. A PHEIC is reserved only for events that may lead to an international issue or require international assistance. Eventually, the epidemic spread to seven other countries due to increased mobilization, crowded cities and conflicting infection control practices.
By the end of the epidemic, there were 15, confirmed cases and 11, deaths, making it the most significant Ebola outbreak in history. The epidemic brought to light the importance of investing in health infrastructure in developing countries for the benefit of all countries around the globe.
What makes this particular Ebola outbreak especially difficult to combat is that it is in conflict-affected areas, which has made it dangerous to access the affected people. This has resulted in this Ebola outbreak becoming the largest outbreak in DRC's history. Nearly 13, deaths , including suspected, probable and confirmed deaths, have occurred as a result of an Ebola outbreak since its discovery in through the end of the epidemic in So far, there have been over 2, cases reported and more than 1, deaths, making it the largest outbreak in the country's history.
According to WHO, infection prevention and control practices in healthcare facilities need to be strengthened to end the outbreak. We're in the region now providing access to clean and safe water, as well as improving sanitation practices and hygiene information. Beth Bell, director of the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases , claims that investments made into building public health infrastructure in West Africa could have prevented the Ebola epidemic in by giving West Africa ways to detect and contain the virus before it spread.
Bell reminds citizens of the world that any country is vulnerable to diseases like Ebola if it is not stopped at the source. She claims that stopping infections where the outbreak occurs is the most "effective and least expensive way to protect people's health.
In , a year into the Ebola epidemic, WHO compiled a list of factors that contributed to the widespread occurrence of the disease. Keeping these factors in mind is a way to develop strategies to beat the virus and prevent an epidemic in the future. These factors include:. Skip to main content. Who we are Our leadership Careers Research and resources Blog.
Researchers believe the virus is carried in bats, but the exact source is unknown. Ebola has been in the news over the last few months as the largest outbreak in history has developed in Western Africa.
Several American healthcare workers who have worked with patients in Africa have become sick and been brought back to the United States for treatment. On September 30, the first case of Ebola was diagnosed in the United States in a patient who had recently traveled from Africa.
A person infected with Ebola is not contagious until symptoms appear. Symptoms usually begin eight to 10 days after a person has been exposed to an ill Ebola patient.
Direct contact with the bodies of those who died from EVD proved to be one of the most dangerous — and effective — methods of transmission. Changes in behaviors related to mourning and burial, along with the adoption of safe burial practices, were critical in controlling that epidemic. The Pathogenesis of Ebola Virus Disease. The discovery of Bombali virus adds further support for bats as hosts of ebolaviruses external icon.
Nature Microbiology. Clinical Excellence for Nurse Practitioners. Vol 2. Accessed June 20, J Infect Dis Suppl 1 : S Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.
Ebola Ebola Virus Disease. Section Navigation. Although these family members were not tested, their symptoms and the subsequent pattern of virus spread are consistent with the EVD outbreak. The child is thought to have played in a tree that housed Ebola-infected bats, so that he likely came in direct contact with the bats or their droppings. The virus transmitted by these bats is closely related to the Zaire Ebola virus.
Reports came from multiple regions within these countries. Ebola arrived in Nigeria during July when a person who had had contact with an Ebola victim in Liberia traveled by plane to Nigeria and infected several contacts. In late August, Ebola reached a fifth country when Senegal confirmed its first and, to date, only case. Mali reported its first case in October after a symptomatic young girl traveled from Guinea to Mali and died shortly afterwards, and then an independent small cluster arose a short time later after an elderly man with undiagnosed disease traveled from Guinea to Mali.
The outbreak was quickly contained in Mali, Senegal and Nigeria, but widespread transmission occurred in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. The initial transmission of Ebola virus outside of West Africa came to light in early October when a nursing assistant at a hospital in Spain contracted EVD after she had helped care for a missionary who had become infected in Sierra Leone and then flown to Spain.
She recovered from EVD, and tests were negative for the presence of the virus following her illness. Several other people who contracted Ebola in West Africa were treated in hospitals in the United States and in Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Norway, but to date no further transmission has occurred. The first diagnosis of Ebola virus infection in the United States was announced on Sept.
Prior to traveling to Dallas, Texas, a man had had direct contact with a woman in Liberia who was dying of Ebola. His symptoms appeared only after he arrived in the United States.
While seeking medical attention at a hospital in Dallas, his illness was not immediately recognized as Ebola and he was sent home. He was admitted to the same hospital three days later when his condition worsened, and he died ten days after he was admitted.
A nurse who had contact with this patient during his second hospital stay was confirmed to have EVD on Oct. This was the first known case of transmission within the United States. A second nurse at the same hospital tested positive for Ebola three days later. Both nurses recovered and have been declared free of the virus.
Other contacts of the Liberian patient, including family members who shared an apartment with the patient, did not become infected. A fourth diagnosis of Ebola infection in the United States occurred later in October when a doctor who had returned to New York from treating patients in Guinea tested positive for Ebola virus.
He was hospitalized and has recovered and is free of the virus. His contacts completed the day follow-up period without becoming infected. At the end of , the toll of reported cases stood at approximately 20,, of whom more than 7, died.
Actual numbers are thought to be higher. Nearly all of the deaths occurred in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. There was one death in the United States, six in Mali, and eight in Nigeria. Until December, the highest numbers of cases and deaths had occurred in Liberia, but towards the end of the number of new cases surged in Sierra Leone surpassing the count in Liberia.
Sierra Leone remains the country with the most confirmed cases of EVD, although the death toll is highest in Liberia. Progress became apparent during the early months of when overall numbers of new cases declined. Towards the end of the year, the outbreak was declared over in Liberia in September, in Sierra Leone in November, and in Guinea in December after each of these countries completed a period of 42 days, double the maximum incubation time, in which no new confirmed cases were reported.
By this time, an overall total of more than 28, cases and 11, deaths had occurred as a result of this Ebola virus outbreak. The first outbreak of Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of was reported in early May after two cases caused by the Ebola Zaire virus were confirmed in laboratory tests.
The outbreak was declared ended by the WHO in July after contacts of confirmed cases who had been vaccinated did not display Ebola virus symptoms within 42 days double the maximum incubation period for infection. In total, there were 54 confirmed or probable cases, including 32 deaths, as a result of this outbreak, which was confined to regions within the northwestern part of the country. The four cases in the large urban center of Mbandaka, a major transportation hub, had caused the greatest concern.
The short duration of the first outbreak appeared to be due to benefits from the scientific knowledge gained during the outbreak in West Africa and the results of a vaccination trial conducted in Guinea during Once the outbreak was reported, a wide partnership of governmental and health agencies worked quickly to curtail it.
Using the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine developed by Merck - which is not yet licensed nor formally approved - but was shown to be safe and effective during the vaccine trial in Guinea, a ring vaccination campaign was undertaken in which the contacts of confirmed cases, and their contacts, as well as healthcare workers and others with potential exposure to the virus were given the experimental vaccine. More than people were vaccinated. The respite was short-lived, however, as on August 1, a little more than a week later, another outbreak - the tenth in the DRC - was declared.
The new cluster of cases was reported in the North Kivu Province in the northeastern part of the country, a remote, conflict-plagued region that shares porous borders with Uganda and Rwanda and which hosts over a million displaced persons. These conditions have made it much more difficult to curtail the spread of the virus. As of June 1 , a total of EVD cases in two neighboring northeastern provinces North Kivu and Ituri have been reported in this ongoing outbreak according to the World Health Organization.
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