List of Ebola patients

List of Ebola Patients

The List of Ebola Patients refers to the individuals who have been diagnosed with Ebola virus disease (EVD), a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The disease is caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus species, which are found in several African countries.

Transmission

Ebola virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks.

Symptoms

The symptoms of Ebola virus disease include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising). Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after contact with the virus, with an average of 8 to 10 days.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of the Ebola virus is difficult because early symptoms such as fever are nonspecific to Ebola infection and are often seen in patients with more commonly occurring diseases. Confirmation that symptoms are caused by Ebola virus infection are made using the following investigations: antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), antigen-capture detection tests, serum neutralization test, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay, electron microscopy, and virus isolation by cell culture.

Treatment

There is no proven treatment available for EVD. However, a range of potential treatments including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies are currently being evaluated.

Prevention

Prevention includes reducing the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission, avoiding close contact with Ebola patients and proper use of infection prevention and control measures in healthcare settings.

Notable Cases

While it is not ethical or practical to list all individuals who have contracted the disease, some notable cases have been reported in the media due to their significant impact on public health, policy, and perception of the disease. These include:

• Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to develop symptoms outside Africa during the 2014–2016 outbreak.
• Teresa Romero, a Spanish nursing assistant who contracted the disease after caring for a priest who had been repatriated from Sierra Leone.
• Pauline Cafferkey, a British nurse who contracted Ebola while working in Sierra Leone.

See Also

• Ebola virus disease
• Ebola virus disease treatment research
• Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
• Ebola virus epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo