“The big medical story of the last week or so has been the ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa. Last week it was announced that two Americans who had been infected with Ebola were going to be flown back to the US, specifically to Emory University, for treatment, a development that ramped up the fear and misinformation about Ebola virus to even greater heights than it had already attained. All of this is why now seems an opportune time to discuss the Ebola outbreak from a science-based perspective. The Ebola virus belongs to a class of diseases known as viral hemorrhagic fevers. It’s a diverse group of diseases caused by Ebola virus that range in severity from relatively mild to exceedingly deadly. Ebola-Reston, which is found in the Philippines, doesn’t cause human disease, but all the others, which are found in Africa, do. Of these, the Zaire strain of Ebola is the most deadly, with a greater than 90% case fatality rate. However, it should be remembered that the figure of 90% fatality is the case fatality rate with essentially no treatment. With modern medical care, the case fatality rate, even for Ebola-Zaire is more like 56%, which is still quite bad. Yes, Ebola is a very, very bad disease. Worse, there’s not much that even modern science-based medicine can do to treat the virus specifically. Basically, the treatment consists of supportive care. Ebola virus, although contagious, is not nearly as contagious as, for example, influenza or measles, both of which are easily spread through the air. Ebola, by comparison, is transmitted through contact with body fluids (blood, saliva, semen, vomit, urine, or feces) in much the same way HIV or hepatitis B is. In Africa, the nosocomial route is prominent, because of reuse and improper sterilization of syringes, needles, or other medical equipment contaminated with these fluids. It’s not as though American hospitals don’t have considerable experience with universal blood and bodily fluid precautions. No one’s saying the risk is zero, but it’s incredibly low, the blatherings and bloviations of ignorant gasbags like Donald Trump on Twitter notwithstanding. The chances of nosocomial transmission to a health care worker is minimal, the likelihood of an outbreak in the US due to these patients is not zero, but it’s very close. It also helps to put Ebola in perspective. Since 1976, Ebola has infected fewer than 5,000 people and killed fewer than 3,000.” sciencebasedmedicine.org/ebola-outbreaks-science-versus-fear-mongering-and-quackery/#more-32728
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 00:00:25 +0000
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