Ebola is one of the worst infectious diseases. High fever, body aches, internal and external bleeding and finally death, so the disease often progresses. It starts like a flu, and so family and friends become infected quickly. Protection measures to be initiated, therefore, often if already several people have been infected. In short: If somewhere in the world, Ebola breaks out, high-pitched bells with health experts, the alarm.
this is the case with the current epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Here, the auxiliary forces are fighting not only against the spread of the Virus, but also with an unstable security situation. In addition, the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri are inhabited in the East of the country very tight. For the next few days are expected to pay, therefore, further increase in Infection.
In a crisis Committee, the world health organization analyzed the Situation. Regional fear of the health experts, the epidemic continues to spread. International but you calm down: There is currently no threat to the world’s health – due in part to the use of a new vaccine.
According to the WHO, 181 people are currently with the Ebola virus, 104 have died in it. Probably the real figure is higher, but because of the poorly developed health care system in the very remote regions of a concrete statement is hardly possible. The health experts WHO are extremely worried, said Robert Steffen, the Chairman of the emergency Committee. International but the risk of spread is currently very low. Although the spreading area of the border to the borders of Uganda and Rwanda, still not a single case had so far become known.
in Front of an international threat was not warned, therefore, for the time being. Thus, says Steffen, it’s important to trivialise the Situation in any way. But the proclamation of an international threat status could complicate the containment of the epidemic, actually. Then it came to restrictions of trade and travel conditions, the work of the auxiliary forces would be impeded.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus still tried to spread optimism. In the past, the democratic Republic of the Congo have been able to fight several Ebola epidemics successfully and the international support this Time. “The epidemic is to be contained in a reasonable period of time,” he said. When that might be, or whether an end to the spread yet this year, realistically, remained open.
The use of an experimental vaccine do hope that the Virus can no longer spread in the current epidemic so fast, says Steffen. This vaccine is only Recently, though, scientists are already working since the end of the 70s. But before the severe Ebola epidemic, which focused in 2014 and 2016 in the West African grass, it was Ebola dismissed rather than disease-African developing countries.
In the case of the outbreak in West Africa, nearly 30,000 people, more than 11,000 of them died of ill but. This eruption increased the pressure on vaccine developers, 2014, the pharmaceutical manufacturer, Merck acquired the licenses to the experimental vaccine rVSV-ZEBOV. In the meantime, he was developed further, currently it is considered to be 100 percent effective.
The current Ebola outbreak, this vaccine is used for the first Time, although he is not admitted in spite of the positive results officially. Ghebreyesus assured: “The decision for the approval of the vaccine is actually already fallen, it is only the Formalities are missing.”
Much hope on the vaccination against Ebola
Since an area of the deck is not the end of vaccination in the required time, will now be vaccinated according to a specific pattern: All those who may have had during the incubation period contact with a Diseased, can immunize. This includes people who have been within the last three weeks before the onset of symptoms in the Patients either in the budget, the visit of the Concerned, get or even coming in contact with his clothes might be. Also, the staff of the aid organisations on the ground are entitled to the vaccine.
The difficult security situation in the country complicated the search for the contact persons. So far, more than 18,000 people were vaccinated, including 4000 children. An average can be determined, as in previous epidemics have shown, only a maximum of 92 per cent of the contact persons. In order to increase the vaccination rate in the population, superior health experts, to to vaccinate in the future, all people in the distribution area of the Virus, regardless of whether a direct or indirect contact with the Diseased stock.
“The vaccination can help to ensure that the disease is spreading slower. But it is only one of many measures,“ said Steffen. Also important is the Isolation of the patient, as well as the quick burial of the victims, to ensure the containment of the epidemic as quickly as possible. This is important because the disease is spreading currently in the very densely populated provinces of North-Kivu and Ituri. In North Kivu alone, some eight million people. Also, fighting between rebel groups and government in the affected Region make the containment of the epidemic difficult.
Since Ebola in the 70s for the first Time has been described, time and again, people to the Virus become ill. It is likely transmitted via fruit-eating flying foxes which carry the Virus, but not sick. Insufficiently cooked bat meat or flesh of other by the bats of infected animals can transmit the Virus to humans.
The currently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that is circulating on the Virus is from the same tribe as the most severe Ebola epidemic in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, was rampant. How long will it take for this outbreak to containment, is unclear.
