According to recent data provided by the World Health Organization, 1093 cases of contamination with the Ebola disease virus have been registered since February 2014 in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. 660 of the cases led to deaths. The virus was discovered in Ebola, Zaire in 1976. Since that time the virus has struck other continents. At first it was believed that the virus came from apes, but it has been then established that it came from bats, whom the local population consumes as food.
"The Ebola disease virus is not a quarantine disease, no matter how surprising it may seem. However, it is indeed a dangerous virus. This means that a quarantine may have been declared, but will be a temporary quarantine rather than a permanent one," Doctor Vladimir Nikiforov explains.
The doctor also explained that the latent period of the disease does not last for more than three weeks. "The disease usually begins with fever and general sickness. Then pains in joints may emerge. On the first, second, third and fourth days bowel upset may take place. At the end of the first week a haemorrhagic syndrome emerges. It then causes death.
According to the doctor, the situation in Africa is very difficult as people often do not trust local doctors. "Very often the population tend to trust shamans more than doctors. Shamans only use traditional methods and sometimes prohibit their patients from contacting doctors. Sometimes doctors are even being attacked. Patients only arrive in hospitals when their condition is very bad. However, African hospitals are often poorly equipped. It would be incorrect to say that this disease cannot be cured. It can indeed. Right now, around 55 percent of the cases result in deaths," the expert says.
Doctor Nikiforov also says that there is no single vaccine against the Ebola fever. There are however a number of drugs which are used for therapy. "There is no drug for this exact virus, but there are drugs which may be used for such kinds of viruses. So it can indeed be cured," he said.
