Highly virulent infectious disease caused by the Ebola virus with a mortality rate of about 60%.
It is transmitted only by sick people, not by carriers without symptoms, through contact with bodily secretions, blood or implanted tissues.
It manifests with high fever and muscle pain, headache, pain on swallowing, vomiting and/or bleeding (bruising, nosebleeds, digestive bleeding or bleeding from the respiratory tract). Other less frequent symptoms: joint pain, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and lack of an appetite.
Suspect if there has been previous contact with people in endemic areas (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Conakry and Nigeria). It will be confirmed by laboratory tests.
There is no specific treatment. Symptoms should be treated, using standard analgesics for pain control and ensuring proper hydration and nutrition.
- Mike Bray, Daniel S Chertow. Epidemiology and pathogenesis of Ebola virus disease. UpToDate. Apr 12, 2016.
- Mike Bray, Daniel S Chertow. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of Ebola virus disease. UpToDate. Apr 28, 2016.
- Mike Bray, Daniel S Chertow. Treatment and prevention of Ebola virus disease. UpToDate. Oct 25, 2016.
- Uyeki TM, Mehta AK, Davey RT Jr, et al. Clinical Management of Ebola Virus Disease in the United States and Europe. N Engl J Med 2016; 374:636.
- WHO Ebola Response Team. Ebola Virus Disease among Male and Female Persons in West Africa. N Engl J Med 2016; 374:96.
- Dean NE, Halloran ME, Yang Y, Longini IM. Transmissibility and Pathogenicity of Ebola Virus: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Household Secondary Attack Rate and Asymptomatic Infection. Clin Infect Dis 2016; 62:1277.
- Janvier F, Foissaud V, Cotte J, et al. Monitoring of Prognostic Laboratory Markers in Ebola Virus Disease. J Infect Dis 2016; 213:1049.
- Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad. INFORMACIÓN SOBRE EL BROTE DE ENFERMEDAD POR VIRUS ÉBOLA (EVE). Last accessed: Feb 15, 2017 https://www.msssi.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/ebola/infProfesionales.htm
