These symptoms may indicate Ebola

The time between infection with the Ebola virus and the outbreak of the actual disease is usually about 8-10 days, but can also be 5-20 days. The Ebola fever then classically runs in two phases. The first phase is reminiscent of a flu-like infection.

Patients initially develop fever, chills, headache and aching limbs. Nausea and vomiting may also occur. In addition, diarrhea, dizziness, general weakness, loss of appetite, sore throat and conjunctivitis may occur.

After this first phase of the disease has subsided, the symptoms usually improve for about 24-28 hours before the second phase of the disease begins. This is characterized by the characteristic bleeding that constitutes hemorrhagic fever. Patients develop high fever again and show different bleeding symptoms.

These range from bleeding into the conjunctiva, bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract to bleeding in the kidney and urinary tract. The bleeding often manifests itself in bloody stool and/or urine. In cases of severe and prognostically unfavorable progression, coughing up blood (hemoptysis) and vomiting blood (hematemesis) may also occur.

Symptoms due to impairment of the central nervous system have also been described, for example seizures, confusion and comatose states. Some patients develop bleeding into the skin and extensive skin rashes. In the course of the disease, kidney failure, shock and finally multiple organ failure occur.

This leads to tissue loss (necrosis) in multiple organs and finally to circulatory arrest. Hemorrhagic fever is not a symptom. The term “haemorrhagic fever” is used to describe infections caused by different viruses.

In addition to Ebola fever, the group of hemorrhagic fevers includes yellow fever and dengue fever. The respective diseases differ not only in the different viruses that cause them, but also in their course. Some of the hemorrhagic fevers are acute, like Ebola fever, and others have a more insidious onset.

Vaccinations currently exist for dengue fever and yellow fever. A vaccine against the Ebola virus is currently still in the trial phase. The time between infection with Ebola, the outbreak of the disease and the appearance of the first symptoms is relatively variable and, as already mentioned above, is between 5 and 20 days, but usually 8 to 10 days.

At the beginning of the disease, the infected persons suffer from rather unspecific symptoms that resemble flu. There are sore throats, headaches, joint and muscle pain, high fever, which can reach 41° Celsius, and associated with it also chills. In addition, the eyes may be reddened and a rash may develop.

If the course of the disease is mild, these general symptoms may persist until the end of the infection. However, if a severe hemorrhagic form occurs, life-threatening symptoms may occur in addition to these general symptoms. In the hemorrhagic form, there is a pathologically increased bleeding tendency, the so-called hemorrhagic diathesis.

This tendency to bleed becomes visible by small punctiform bleedings in the skin, also called petechiae. This form of the disease can be fatal, especially due to internal bleeding. These primarily affect the gastrointestinal tract and manifest themselves as severe bloody diarrhea.

External bleeding from the eyes and mouth also contribute to blood loss. If the patient is not treated adequately at an early stage by drinking plenty of fluids and, in the case of blood loss, by blood transfusions, the circulation breaks down and the patient dies as a result of the resulting organ failure. The mortality rate of patients suffering from Ebola is very high.

In the last major outbreak in West Africa, about 40% of those affected died. However, it should be remembered that this enormously high mortality rate is a consequence of the conditions in West Africa. Medical care is inadequate and the sick do not receive the appropriate volume or blood transfusions. In addition, the spread of the virus is favored by the lack of hygiene in hospital facilities.The chances of survival from Ebola are probably higher in industrialized countries than in West African countries, thanks to better and more widespread medical care.