Ebola Virus Disease Ebola Virus Disease

Running head: EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE 1
Ebola Virus Disease
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EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE 2
Ebola Virus Disease
Ebola virus disease is a zoonotic infection that is thought to be transmitted by the fruit
bats, chimpanzees, monkeys, porcupines, gorillas or even antelopes. This virus was first
discovered in 1976 in Congo formerly known as Ebola River. It then spread to some parts of
central Africa and West Africa. Its introduction into human beings is by having a close contact
with the secretions, body fluids, bloods or even the body organs of the infected animals (Center
for Disease Control, 2018). The human to human transmission can be due to direct contact with
the infected person like the mucous membranes or broken skin, and indirect through coming into
contact with the contaminated surfaces and materials. Coming into touch with the corpse of a
dead human being or animal that died of the virus can also lead to its transmission. Ebola virus
can also be sexually transmitted (Deen, et al., 2017). However, the virus cannot be transmitted
through food, air or water (Kelly, 2018). The window period for this virus is 2-21 days.
From my health topic, I have been able to learn that there is no cure for Ebola and that
treatment is largely supportive in nature. The unavailability of medication for this disease has
made its treatment and prevention in the areas that have been mostly affected to be very hard and
challenging. Even though, some people have been requesting for the exploratory treatment of
Ebola virus to be made broadly accessible to the most affected areas, others have been arguing
that it is unethical hence spurring a controversy. According to World Health Organization
(2018), the investigational therapeutics should only be offered to the patients on an emergency
basis. This explains the reason as to why there is controversy. It is important to note that research
on Ebola virus disease centers on finding the host of the virus, developing antibodies to protect
the population at risk and finding therapies to help enhance the treatment of this disease. To
manage the Ebola cases, healthcare practitioners have a responsibility to offer the best