Ghofran K. Al-khafaji¹, Hawraa Dheyaa Rasool¹ and Saja Nabeel taqi¹

¹Department of Laboratory and Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jabir Ibn Hayyan University for Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Al-Najaf, Iraq.

Abstract 

Ebola virus disease (EVD), commonly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral infection that is highly dangerous and lethal and impacts both humans and non-human primates. It is an infection caused by viruses of the genus Ebola virus. Symptoms, in most cases, will appear 2 to 21 days after exposure, starting with fever, sore throat, headache, and muscle pain. In the course of the infection, the patient may experience vomiting, and diarrhea, failure of the liver and kidneys, skin rashes, and in many cases, bleeding either internally or externally. In terms of case fatality, EVD is highly lethal, with estimated case fatality rates of 25 to 90 percent and an average of 50 percent. Dehydration and hypovolemic shock are the most common causes of death. For patients that receive early supportive management, survival is far more likely, while outcome tends to worsen with delay. EVD case management is simpler with early intervention. A milestone in prevention was reached when vaccines for Ebola virus were approved by the US FDA in December of 2019. EVD is transmitted by direct exposure to blood, secretions, and other body fluids of infected people or animals, through fomites, and through contact with contaminated surfaces. Importantly, airborne transmission between humans or primates has not been documented in and out of the laboratory setting. The Ebola virus can remain in semen and breast milk for several weeks to months after recovery, posing a risk for post-recovery transmission. It is believed that fruit bats are the primary asymptomatic carriers of the virus. Clinically, the Ebola virus infection is indistinguishable from malaria, typhoid, meningitis, cholera, and other hemorrhagic fevers which necessitates laboratory confirmation through detection of viral RNA, antigens, or antibodies for accurate diagnosis.

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