Ebola (synonyms: Ebola fever; Ebola hemorrhagic fever; Ebola virus disease; English : ebola virus disease (EVD), Ebola hemorrhagic fever, EHF; ICD-10-GM A98.4: Ebola virus disease) is an infectious disease caused by Ebola virus (of the family Filoviridae). It is one of the largest known RNA viruses, along with the genus Marburg virus of the same family. The disease belongs to the viral hemorrhagic fever group. The disease was named after the river “Ebola” in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) because the virus first appeared there (1976). The following five species (serogroups) of Ebola virus are distinguished:
- Zaire Ebolavirus [ZEBOV]
- Sudan ebolavirus [SEBOV]
- Reston ebolavirus [REBOV]
- Côte d’Ivoire ebolavirus [CIEBOV]
- Bundibugyo ebolavirus [BEBOV]
Except for Reston ebolavirus, all of the above species cause viral hemorrhagic fever (viral infection with fever and bleeding) in humans. The pathogen reservoir are the flying foxes or bats (Chiroptera, also fluttering animals) living in sub-Saharan Africa. Occurrence: Infection occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, present-day South Sudan, Uganda, and Gabon. Most recently, an outbreak was reported in Guinea (West Africa; primarily Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) (March 2014): at that time, more than 28,000 people became ill and over 11,000 died. The contagiousness of the pathogen is very high. Transmitters are non-human primates, rodents and fruit bats. Contact with infected sick or dead animals transmits the disease, including to humans.Ebola virus (EBOV) survived in seminal fluid for 531 days after the disease outbreak. Human-to-human transmission (route of infection) occurs through contact with blood or other fluids (saliva, semen, stool, etc.) of the infected person or the deceased (contact or smear infection). Human-to-human transmission: Yes. The incubation period (time from infection to onset of disease) is usually 2-21 (mean 4-10 days days). If there is no improvement in the health of the infected person within 14 days, cardiovascular and renal failure and severe hemorrhage of the liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen and blood vessels occur. The duration of infectivity (contagiousness) persists as long as the ill person has fever/symptoms and viral excretion is detectable. Note: Ejaculate may be infectious for months after symptoms have resolved! In 10 percent of survivors, the viruses are still detectable after a year. Ebola virus can produce latent infection in rare cases. A woman In West Africa infected her husband and two of her sons more than a year after surviving active disease. The disease leaves her with pathogen-specific immunity. Course and prognosis: Ebola typically begins on day 2-8 after infection with fever, headache, muscle aches, and nausea and diarrhea. Thereafter, there is complete depletion of body strength (prostration), respiratory (dyspnea/breathlessness, cough, rhinorrhea/nasal discharge, chest pain/chest pain), circulatory (orthostatic blood pressure drop, edema/water retention), gastrointestinal (nausea/nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain/abdominal pain, diarrhea/diarrhea), and nervous system symptoms. (Cephalgia/headache, impaired consciousness, coma). The disease is dangerous and usually takes a life-threatening course. Symptoms of the CNS (central nervous system) such as encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) can occur even months later (Ebola-negative in serum; Ebola-positive in cerebrospinal fluid).The prognosis is unfavorable as soon as a hemorrhagic diathesis (severe bleeding tendency; approx. 50% of cases) and cerebral (affecting the brain) symptoms occur. The lethality (mortality in relation to the total number of people suffering from the disease) is 50-90% in the affected countries, depending on the viral species. With the use of intensive medical measures in industrialized countries, the lethality is about 22 %. Vaccination: The rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine proved effective towards the end of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. It was originally developed to defend against bioterrorist attacks in North America. The EU Commission recommended October 2019 for approval. In Germany, the disease is notifiable under the Infection Protection Act (IfSG).Notification must be made by name in cases of suspected illness, illness, and death and in cases of direct or indirect pathogen detection in association with acute infection (regardless of clinical presentation).
