LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Ebola: Patients
built 238 days ago
Note: A main concern in dealing with Ebola viral infections is the potential for human-to-human spread of virus before the correct diagnosis is made. This risk includes all medical personnel in direct contact with the patient, the patient's blood, or other body fluids or tissues.
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[T]he nurses at the hospital had an Ebola epidemic on their hands. The needle used for Lokela�s quinine injection was inadequately sterilized, so Ebola had spread from patient to patient as the needles were reused. They called Dr. Ngoi Mushola, the area director, for help. He taught them how to sterilize their needles and purify water. He ... told the nurses to instruct patients� families not to bury their dead inside or close to their homes as tradition dictated, since Ebola could spread from dead bodies. He also called authorities in Kinshasa, the nation�s capital, for help.
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A very high mortality rate is associated with Ebola hemorrhagic fever, with between 50 and 90 percent of patients dying after infection. In addition, it is almost always fatal in pregnant women. However, some patients recover from the illness. Experts do not know why the illness is fatal to so many, yet is not fatal in a few patients.
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Antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing, IgM ELISA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and virus isolation can be used to diagnose a case of Ebola HF within a few days of the onset of symptoms. Persons tested later in the course of the disease or after recovery can be tested for IgM and IgG antibodies; the disease can ... be diagnosed retrospectively in deceased patients by using immunohistochemistry testing, virus isolation, or PCR.
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Vaccines have been produced for both Ebola [14] and Marburg[15] that were 99% effective in protecting a group of monkeys from the disease. These vaccines are based on either a recombinant Vesicular stomatitis virus or a recombinant Adenovirus[16] carrying the Ebola spikeprotein on its surface. Early human vaccine efforts, like the one at NIAID in 2003, have so far not reported any successes.[17] The biggest problem with the vaccine is that unless the patient is given it near the onset of the virus (1-4 days after the symptoms begin) then there will be too much damage to the human body to repair, ie: ruptured arteries and capillaries, vomiting, and other symptoms which may still cause enough harm to kill or seriously traumatize the patient.
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There is currently no standard treatment for the Ebola virus that results in anything more than making the patient comfortable. The one standard therapy in use is to make sure that patients receive enough proper fluids, as well as maintaining their blood pressure and providing a good supply of oxygen. In hospitals, Ebola patients receive what are called barrier nursing techniques, meaning that they are isolated from other patients and only are tended to by workers who wear protective clothing, masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles. Complete sterilization procedures are ... strictly followed.
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