11/11/2016 EbolaVirusDiseaseAChallengetoIndiaClearIAS

EbolaVirusDiseaseAChallengetoIndia
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ClearIASTeam 11/3/2014

Ebolavirusdisease(EVD),formerlyknownasEbolahaemorrhagicfever,isasevere,oftenfatalillnessin
humans.TheEbolavirusistransmittedtopeoplefromwildanimalsandspreadsinthehumanpopulation
throughhumantohumantransmission.TheEbolaviruscausesanacute,seriousillnesswhichisoftenfatalif
untreated.TherearecurrentlynolicensedEbolavaccinesbut2potentialcandidatesareundergoingevaluation.

HistoryofEbola:Ebolavirusdisease(EVD)firstappearedin1976in2simultaneousoutbreaks,oneinNzara,
Sudan,andtheotherinYambuku,DemocraticRepublicofCongo.TheYambukuoutbreakoccurredinavillage
neartheEbolaRiver,fromwhichthediseasetakesitsname.ThecurrentoutbreakinwestAfricaisthelargest
andmostcomplexEbolaoutbreaksincetheEbolaviruswasfirstdiscoveredin1976.Thefirstcaseswere
notifiedinMarch2014.Themostseverelyaffectedcountries,Guinea,SierraLeoneandLiberiahaveveryweak
healthsystems,lackinghumanandinfrastructuralresources,havingonlyrecentlyemergedfromlongperiodsof
conflictandinstability.

EbolaVirusStrains
Thereare5speciesofEbolaVirus(belongingtothevirusfamilyFiloviridae)thathavebeenidentified:Zaire,
Bundibugyo,Sudan,RestonandTaForest.Thefirst3,Bundibugyoebolavirus,Zaireebolavirus,andSudan
ebolavirushavebeenassociatedwithlargeoutbreaksinAfrica.Theviruscausingthe2014westAfrican
outbreakbelongstotheZairespecies.

TheEbolavirusisamemberofRNAvirusknownasFiloviriade.
TheEbolavirusistheworldsthirddeadliestinfectiousdiseaseafterHIV.
ThenewstrainofEbolaiscalledEbolaTai(WHO).

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TransmissionofEbola
ItisthoughtthatfruitbatsofthePteropodidaefamilyarenaturalEbolavirushosts.Ebolaisintroducedintothe
humanpopulationthroughclosecontactwiththeblood,secretions,organsorotherbodilyfluidsofinfected
animalssuchaschimpanzees,gorillas,fruitbats,monkeys,forestantelopeandporcupinesfoundillordeador
intherainforest.

Ebolathenspreadsthroughhumantohumantransmissionviadirectcontact(throughbrokenskinormucous
membranes)withtheblood,secretions,organsorotherbodilyfluidsofinfectedpeople,andwithsurfacesand
materials(e.g.bedding,clothing)contaminatedwiththesefluids.

SymptomsofEbolaVirusDisease
TheEbolaviruscauseshemorrhagicfeverwhichbeginsitseffectin4to10daysaftertheinfection.Symptoms
aresuchasfever,chills,lossofappetite,headacheetc.Asthediseaseadvancesmoresymptomssuchas
vomiting,sorethroat,diarrhea,chestpainandbleedingmayoccur.Incubationperiodforthisvirusisfromtwoto
twentyonedays.PeoplemaybeexposedtotheEbolavirusfromdirectcontactwiththebloodandsecretionsof
infectedperson.Itattackseverypartofthehumanbodyanddisruptsimmunesystemwhichfinallymayleadto
death.

EbolawhichisnativeofAfricancontinentisspreadingtomanyothercountriesthroughthepeoplewhoare
affectedbythisvirus.WhenaffectedpeoplefromcountrieslikeGuinea,Liberia,SierraLeonemovedtoother

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11/11/2016 EbolaVirusDiseaseAChallengetoIndiaClearIAS

countries,thevirusspread.Therewasstrictbanfromthesideofmany
countriesonnativesfromWestAfricannations.Butthediseasehas
alreadyspreadtononAfricansandthescrutinybecametough.Allthe
countriesnearbyAfricaarescrutinizingintheirrespectiveairports.
MedicalcheckupisdonetothepassengersfromAfrica.Butunfortunately
theymaynotberecognizedasinfectedbecausethevirustakesalmost21
daystoincubate.Soevenifthepersonisaffectedheisnotabletobe
identified.

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Indiaisalsotakingmeasuressothatthevirusshouldnotbespreadtothe
country.ButtherearethousandsofIndianswhoareworkinginEbola
infectedareasinAfrica.IftheyreturntotheirhomelandIndiathen
chancesofspreadingofthevirusisthere.ItsreallyabigchallengetoIndiatotacklethevirus.Althoughthe
governmentismakingeffortstoscreenthepeopleatinternationalairports,thepotentialthreatisstillthere.
DensepopulationandpoorsanitationarethemainproblemstotackleEbolainIndia.Healthcareservicesin
Indiaareabysmal.

Measures
1.Reducingtheriskofwildlifetohumantransmission.
2.Reducingtheriskofhumantohumantransmission.
3.Outbreakcontainmentmeasures.

Currentlythereisnolicensedvaccinetotreatthedisease.Healthcareworkersareamongthebiggestsegment
ofaffectedpeople.PeoplewhoareaffectedbyEbolaarenotrevealingbecauseofthefearofisolation.
SuggestedmeasurestotackleEbolaincludehospitalswithisolationwardsandimprovedsurveillance.Health
careworkersmustbetrainedtohandleEbolapatients.Strictscreeningmustbedoneatairportsnotonlytothe
peoplewhocomefromAfricancountriesbutalsotoeveryoneasthevirushasalreadyspreadtoothercountries.
PeoplewhoareidentifiedwiththesymptomsofEbolavirusdiseasemustbeimmediatelytreatedbythemedical
personnelandshouldbestrictlymonitoredfromtimetotime.Governmentshouldprovideawarenesstothe
peopleaboutthevirussothatpeoplecanbecautiousandcangoformedicalcheckupifsymptomsappear.

Nameoftheauthor:K.B.DSRIDEVI.ContributedaspartofWriteArticlesWinPrizes!contest.
EditedbyClearIASTeam.Reference:WTO.

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