Ebola

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Homework Assignment 1-Finding Information
1. When and where were the first cases of Ebola?
The first outbreaks of Ebola occurred in Africa between the 1st September and 24th October 1976, there were 318 cases of the disease in northern Zaire. The outbreaks were centred in the Bumba Zone of the equator and most of these cases were recorded within a radius of 70km from Yambuku. There were a total of 280 deaths and only 38 serologically confirmed survivors.
2. What dieses was the first case mistaken as?
The first cases of Ebola were mistaken as Malaria and Dengue; this is because Ebola, Malaria and Dengue share common symptoms early on, including fever and vomiting. This can cause confusion for doctors and lead to them deciding on the wrong
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Give to example of how Ebola could be transferred to a human.
Ebola can be transferred to a human by close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of an infected animal. Infections of Ebola have been recorded through the contact of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelopes and porcupines found ill or dead in the rainforest.
4. What was the relevance of the patients at Yambuku Mission Hospital receiving injections?
On the 1st September 1976 a few people received injections for presumptive malaria at Yambuku Mission Hospital after showing a few symptoms of the disease. Within a week several of these patients (all from the same hospital) also suffered from Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and almost all cases that followed had either received injections from that hospital or had close contact with a patient already suffering from EVD.
5. Which of the following symptoms are Ebola? Circle all that apply
Rash Sneezing Muscle pain Vomiting and
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I would advised the tourist to avoid areas of known outbreaks of the sickness (including; Guinea, Yambuku, Sierra Leone and Liberia). Doing this would mean the tourist will be less likely to have any contact with infected people or actually catch the infection itself. Furthermore, I would recommend the tourist to keep clear of the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids from any infected animal (such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys and porcupines) because Ebola partials are extremely contagious and they can rapidly spread to those who come in contact with it. I would also tell him to avoid eating any raw meats from those infected animals because it would cause direct transmission of the virus. In addition, I would suggest staying away from the blood, secretion, organs, semen, saliva and other bodily fluids of infected people because there is a 50-90% chance of catching Ebola when contact is made. Moreover, avoid handling the remains of people who died from Ebola because their bodies are still contagious. This means that you are in high risk of directly catching the disease through human-human transmission. If the tourist follows this advice he will have a safe and enjoyable trip to Africa as well as having extremely low possibilities of catching the gruesome