Local doctor helped track Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Samantha Ptashkin
GALVESTON, Texas – A doctor from the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston is sharing his experience in Sierra Leone after returning from a six-week trip.
Dr. Tom Ksiazek left for Sierra Leone in August and recently returned to the United States last week. The former CDC employee now works at UTMB as the director of high containment laboratory operations at UTMB's Galveston National Library. He was asked by the CDC to travel to Sierra Leone, one of the countries hit hardest by the Ebola virus.
During his trip Dr. Ksiazek stayed primarily in Sierra Leone's capital city of Freetown. It wasn't his first time dealing with an Ebola outbreak.
In 1995 he traveled with the CDC to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to help control an outbreak. He says this current outbreak is worse.
"By the time the CDC arrived in Sierra Leone and Liberia, the outbreak was quite extensive," Dr. Ksiazek said.
While in Sierra Leone, he helped educate residents about how they can protect themselves from contracting the virus. He didn't provide direct clinical care to patients, so he didn't have to wear the white protective suits you've seen many doctors wear in news videos. However, he saw his fair share of painful images.
"You could see bodies being removed from the hospital of patients who unfortunately succumbed to the disease," Dr. Ksiazek said.
Despite it all, there is not a sense of panic in Sierra Leone as one might expect. Dr. Ksiazek says people get on with their everyday lives.
"They really can't leave. They have to deal with the situation," he said.
He said the biggest problem right now is lack of resources, but he's hopeful the virus will be contained.
As far as the current case of Ebola in Dallas, Dr. Ksiazek says the virus will not spread across the United States.
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The first human outbreaks occurred in 1976, one in northern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Central Africa and the other in southern Sudan (now South Sudan).The number of people contracting Ebola in West Africa declined for months, but officials say dozens of new cases have recently been reported. Learn more about this deadly disease and its symptoms.The virus is named after the Ebola River, where the virus was first recognized in 1976, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Symptoms of Ebola typically include weakness, fever, aches, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain. Additional experiences include rash, red eyes, chest pain, throat soreness, difficulty breathing or swallowing and bleeding, both externally and internally.Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a disease caused by one of five different Ebola viruses. Four of the strains can cause severe illness in humans and animals. The fifth, Reston virus, has caused illness in some animals, but not in humans.Typically, symptoms appear 8 to 10 days after exposure to the virus, but the incubation period can span two to 21 days.Unprotected health care workers are susceptible to infection because of their close contact with patients during treatment.According to the World Health Organization, "there is no specific treatment or vaccine," and the fatality rate can be up to 90 percent. Patients are given supportive care, which includes providing fluids and electrolytes and food.Humans can be infected by other humans if they come in contact with body fluids from an infected person or contaminated objects from infected persons. Humans can also be exposed to the virus through activities like, for example, butchering infected animals.While the exact reservoir of Ebola viruses is still unknown, researchers believe the most likely natural hosts are fruit bats.
The first human outbreaks occurred in 1976, one in northern Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Central Africa and the other in southern Sudan (now South Sudan).
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New York, New Jersey and Illinois have enacted mandatory quarantines for health workers returning to the U.S. from treating Ebola patients in Africa -- and they're getting pushback from medical experts who say such quarantines could discourage aid workers from volunteering to help fight the crisis in West Africa. Take a look at common myths about the deadly virus.But before you panic, take a look at these common myths about the deadly virus.Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a scary virus indeed: It has a death rate of up to 90 percent, and it does horrible things to the human body. But the myths that have popped up around Ebola in the few decades since its discovery could be even scarier than the disease. Take a look at common myths about Ebola, debunked by the World Health Organization.Myth: Ebola can be transmitted through the air.Humans can be infected by other humans if they come in contact with body fluids from an infected person or contaminated objects from infected persons. Humans can also be exposed to the virus through activities like, for example, butchering infected animals.Myth: Ebola is a rapidly changing virus that could potentially be spread through the air eventually. The first important fact to know about the Ebola virus is that it does not change nearly as fast as other viruses, and it can not be transmitted through the air.Myth: Death is certain for those who contact Ebola. Not true. While Ebola outbreaks usually have a case fatality rate of up to 90 percent, it is possible to survive it through intensive support care.Myth: There is a shortage of Ebola vaccines. Actually, there is no licensed vaccine for the virus and also no cure, but care from medical workers so far has helped sustain the lives several of those stricken. Patients that contract the disease require intensive care and the main debilitation of this virus is dehydration. Patients will be given oral rehydration with solutions containing electrolytes or intravenous fluids.Myth: People infected with Ebola exhibit signs and symptoms similar to those afflicted in zombie horror movies. Yes, Ebola is characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain,, vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. But those infected with the disease are not walking, groaning zombies, nor are they trying to eat human flesh.Myth: Ebola is the deadliest disease known to man. True, it can be deadly. But there are many far more common diseases that have claimed many more lives than Ebola.Click here to read more about the Ebola virus itself.
New York, New Jersey and Illinois have enacted mandatory quarantines for health workers returning to the U.S. from treating Ebola patients in Africa -- and they're getting pushback from medical experts who say such quarantines could discourage aid workers from volunteering to help fight the crisis in West Africa. Take a look at common myths about the deadly virus.
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