{"id":5770,"date":"2019-04-18T04:49:29","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T04:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=5770"},"modified":"2021-03-31T13:36:23","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T13:36:23","slug":"14-general-symptoms-of-ebola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/14-general-symptoms-of-ebola\/","title":{"rendered":"14 General Symptoms of Ebola"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Mention the Ebola virus to anyone, and the chances are that their mind starts to envision people bleeding from their eyeballs. Ebola is a severely aggressive hemorrhagic fever that originates in Central Africa, particularly in regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different strains of Ebola have varying levels of lethality. Ebola-Zaire is the most dangerous strain of the virus, with a 90-percent fatality rate, while Ebola-Reston has yet to cause any deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authorities have a hard time trying to contain the virus, as African people tend to come into contact with the body. The Ebola virus can live in a dead body for a few days after the patient expires, infecting anyone that comes in direct contact with the corpse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incubation period varies between 2 to 21-days from the first contact with the virus, and it spreads quickly through families and communities. Here are eight general symptoms of the Ebola virus.
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1.    High Fever<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After the incubation phase ends, the virus starts to produce symptoms of a high fever<\/a>. When the symptoms initially begin, it\u2019s easy to confuse these symptoms with various other diseases, such as yellow fever or malaria, that are common in these regions as well. It\u2019s for this reason that people may receive accidental exposure to the virus through nursing their family members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Draping a cold compress or washcloth across a person\u2019s head and wringing it out in water is a typical rural treatment for helping someone with a fever. Unfortunately, this provides the ideal environment for the spread of the disease, and as a result \u2013 family members become infected with the Ebola virus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fever rarely breaks with Ebola, and when it does, the patient may only gain temporary relief before the body starts to produce more pyrogens to fight the virus by turning up the body temperature of the infected individual.
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2.    Headache, Joint and Muscle Aches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When we experience an infection<\/a>, the brain signals the immune system to produce antibodies to fight off the disease, while it creates white blood cells from T-cells to destroy the virus. Unfortunately, these particles attack healthy tissue as well, causing symptoms of muscle ache, joint ache, and headache. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of your body as a battleground, and your immune system is launching everything it has at the enemy. The muscular, skeletal, and nervous system is now a battleground for your life, and there will be some collateral damage along the way \u2013 that\u2019s why everything aches so badly in patients infected with the Ebola virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best medics can do to help patients manage these symptoms are offer anti-inflammatories and painkillers to the patient. At this stage of the disease, it\u2019s still possible to write off the symptoms to another form of infection \u2013 such as malaria. Fortunately, most people will take the patient to the doctor to confirm malaria, and it\u2019s at this stage that the doctor will discover the presence of the Ebola virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3.    Fatigue and Weakness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From the moment the patient starts to experience the onset of the Ebola <\/a>virus, they become fatigued. Ebola saps the energy out of the infected individual, leaving them bed-ridden and powerless to do anything but experience the onslaught of the virus on their body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms of fatigue and weakness continue to progress throughout the infection, and if left untreated, the patient may develop seizures and fall into a coma from the high fever and fatigue. Patients will not be able to feed themselves or get up to find water to drink., they require managed care around the clock to ensure they remain comfortable while dealing with the effects of the virus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When transporting Ebola patients, many people do not have access to crutches of wheelchairs to assist the person to the clinic for diagnosis. As a result, the infected individual may lean on a friend or family member as they help them walk, resulting in the transmission of the infection through contact with their sweat from the fever.
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4.    Diarrhea and Vomiting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Ebola virus attacks the digestive system, creating hemorrhaging <\/a>and internal bleeding in the intestines. As a result, of this symptom, the patient may start to vomit blood due to infection of the upper gi tract and stomach. Along with this, the infected individual may also begin to experience bloody diarrhea as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These symptoms occur in differing intensity depending on the type of strain responsible for the outbreak, as well as the health of the gut bacteria in the person\u2019s intestinal tract. Over 70-percent of the immune system resides in the gut, and once Ebola takes charge of this region of the body, the patient is starting to fight for their life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage of the virus, the body is under severe biological attack, and any friends or family members that have come in contact with over the course of the last few days should be sent to quarantine to ensure they don\u2019t have the virus.
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5.    Elevated Liver Enzymes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ebola virus is a threat to every biological system and organ in the body. However, when the virus <\/a>starts to attack the liver, the health of the patient begins to decline dramatically. Once the virus starts to spread in liver tissue, it rapidly causes internal bleeding, affecting the production of bile, bilirubin, and cholesterol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, the production of liver enzymes begins to skyrocket, and the patient may develop pain on the right side of their abdomen. As the livce5r starts to hemorrhage, the time left for the affected individual becomes further limited as the body loses the ability to filter the virus out of the bloodstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the infected individual reaches this stage of the disease, the internal damage may be so severe that even if they manage to pull through and survive the infection, they may need the assistance of a colostomy bag for the rest of their life.
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6.    Rash and Red Eyes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ebola causes massive internal hemorrhaging which results in internal bleeding; these symptoms occur across the entire body. However, since the bleeding is internal, there aren\u2019t very many visible symptoms of what\u2019s going on inside the body \u2013 other than coughing blood or bloody diarrhea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the first signs of severe hemorrhaging is when the whites of the eyes start to turn red. The infected individual begins to experience hemorrhaging of the blood vessels around the eyes, resulting in red eyes and pooling of blood in the tear ducts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the patient blinks, they may take on the appearance of crying bloody tears –  a hallmark of hemorrhagic fever and symptom Hollywood movies define as characteristic of these types of disease outbreaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The infected individual may also develop a severe rash <\/a>across their body. This symptom produces itching, and when scratched. The dry and brittle skin may start to bleed as well.
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7.    Chest Pain and Difficulty Breathing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

During the final stages of the virus, Ebola starts to spread to the cardiovascular and respiratory system. Another hallmark of Ebola is that it causes the patients in the advanced stage to cough <\/a>up blood, sometimes in large volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blood pools in the lungs as the tissues in the lungs begin to hemorrhage. As a result, the patient may start to experience a tightness in the chest and chest pain as they begin to drown in their plasma. The patient then tries to clear their chest and ends up coughing up blood instead of the phlegm you would typically expect when dealing with influenza or bronchitis infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone involved with treating patients at this stage of infection should do so dressed in a hazmat suit. The blood particles may vaporize into the air when the patient coughs, leaving any caregivers exposed to contracting the infection by breathing in contaminated particles.
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8.    Bleeding from Orifices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The final stages of the Ebola virus are the stuff of nightmares \u2013 the patient starts bleeding <\/a>from all orifices. At this stage of the disease, the patient has very little chance of surviving the level of internal hemorrhaging going on with their organs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The patient bleeds from the eyes, ears, mouth, and anus as the virus starts to finish its route through the body, manifesting into the most horrific form of death one could imagine. The patient may either choke on plasma collecting in the lungs or perish due to blood loss. Seizures may start to occur, or they may slip into a coma before dying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should the patient die, the disposal of the body must be according to the WHO guidelines. Unfortunately, many African tribes believe in burial for the dead, and as a result, they may not seek treatment, and the family will bury the patient \u2013 contracting the disease as they mourn over the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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9. Sore Throat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the early warning signs of infection with the Ebola virus is a scratchy, sore throat. However, many patients confuse this symptom with the onset of the flu virus or some other type of upper-respiratory infection. As a result, many people choose to stay home thinking that the virus will pass and they will return to normal health in a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Ebola virus continues to spread in the body, and the patient\u2019s symptoms begin to increase in intensity. After developing a fever, the patient will most likely decide to seek medical treatment where they receive the Ebola virus diagnosis from their doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sore throat <\/a>is a classic sign of both viral and bacterial infection. Any patient that experiences a sore throat with symptoms of inflammation and pain lasting longer than 48-hours should consult with their doctor. A sore throat could be an indicator of an underlying infection.
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10. Abdominal Pain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When the Ebola virus starts to attack the digestive system, the patient begins to see an acceleration of their symptoms. More than 70-percent of the immune system <\/a>resides in the gut \u2013 So, when the infection spreads to this region of the body, it\u2019s cause for grave concern among healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should the virus continue to progress, the patient may start to experience severe stomach pains as the hemorrhagic properties of the virus begin to cause substantial internal bleeding in the digestive tract. As a result, the patient may start to pass bloody stools or bloody diarrhea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s at this stage of the disease where the patient will pull through and make a recovery, or the virus wins, and the patient perishes. Even if the patient does recover, the chances are that they may need the assistance of a colostomy bag for the rest of their life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The virus also does substantial damage to the immune system, and it may take the patient several years to fully recover from the effects of the disease.
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11. Lack of Appetite<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the initial symptoms found in Ebola patients is a lack of appetite. When the brain detects the presence of the Ebola virus, it signals the immune system to take up the battle against the invading pathogen<\/a>. The immune system creates antibodies and white blood cells to fight the invading infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many African countries, the local people have weak immune systems due to a lack of medical care and variety in their diet. As a result, they are more prone to contracting diseases, such as Ebola virus. Medical scientists who are studying the Ebola outbreak in DRC state that they believe the health of the patients\u2019 immune system plays a significant role in the effects of the virus on the body. Patients with robust immune systems tend to pull through, surviving its effects. However, those with existing health issues and weak immune systems tend to become casualties of the virus.
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12. Treatment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for infection with the Ebola virus. The type of strain creating the disease dictates the severity of symptoms in patients. The Zaire strain of Ebola responsible for the 2016 outbreak is the most severe. Patients infected with this strain of Ebola have a 10-percent chance of survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other strains of Ebola are less aggressive, but they still manage to kill the patient in more than 40-percent of all recorded cases. The only treatment doctors can provide patients is the progressive management of symptoms as they occur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical staff members receive training to provide patients with IV fluids and other treatments to ensure that the patient has the best chance of survival possible. Scientists are currently working on an Ebola vaccine, and initial results prove encouraging in the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Medical teams are hoping that the vaccine <\/a>provides further insight into the mechanism of the virus.
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13. Risk Factors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Ebola virus is native to the African continent, with no other outbreaks <\/a>of the disease emerging in any other country around the world. Contracting the disease requires coming in contact with the body fluids of an infected person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Americans don\u2019t have any immediate travel plans to visit the current hot zone in the DRC, and it\u2019s for this reason that most Americans won\u2019t have to worry about contracting Ebola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, some Americans may fall into the high-risk category for exposure to the Ebola virus, should it enter the continental United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who work in the aviation industry, such as pilots and cabin crew may end up traveling with an infected person in the early stages of the disease. As a result, the patient may infect the airplane’s team, and anyone traveling on the plane \u2013 making people who travel routes around Africa another high-risk category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customs agents and airport security are also at risk of running into an infected person as they make their way through the airport after landing.
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14. Ebola Facts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Ebola virus is a terrifying disease. For decades, Ebola was the subject of various Hollywood blockbuster movies, such as, \u201cOutbreak,\u201d starring Dustin Hoffman. If you take one look at a patient <\/a>who is in the later stages of infection with the virus, it\u2019s easy to understand when it\u2019s the stuff of nightmares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Ebola remains one of the most intriguing diseases plaguing the planet. The hemorrhagic symptoms are distinct from any other type of viral infection, making it a mysterious illness with terrifying results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are five different strains of the Ebola virus, four of which can infect humans. The most aggressive strain of the virus is the \u201cZaire\u201d strain, responsible for the 2016 Outbreak in North-West Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists first noticed the disease back in 1976, during a double outbreak on the African continent. The scientists responsible for discovering the virus decided to name it after the river that runs through the region where the first outbreaks occurred.
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