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THE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS Ebola virus, which has killed more than 4,500 people in west Africa since December and has fueled global alarm, is among the most dangerous ever identified.
1. Where did it come from?
Like AIDS, which began in Kinshasa in the 1920s before spreading worldwide, according to a recent study, Ebola was first identified in central Africa.
The tropical virus was named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it came to light in 1976.
Five species have been identified to date (Zaire, Sudan, Bundibugyo, Reston and Tai Forest), the first being the most dangerous with death rates that have reached 90% among humans.
The death rate in the current epidemic of haemorrhagic fever is around 70% according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
2. How is it transmitted?
The virus’ natural reservoir animal is probably the bat, which does not contract the disease itself.
Chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines have also been found to transmit Ebola to humans.
Only one certified contact with an animal has been recorded in the current outbreak, however, early on in Guinea, following which it has been passed on among humans.
Although it is highly contagious, Ebola is transmitted less easily than some other diseases. An average of two people have been infected by each person who has contracted the disease since December.
This is because Ebola is transmitted by contact with the blood, body fluids, secretions or organs of an infected person, but not by air.
Those infected do not become contagious until the symptoms appear. They then become more and more contagious until just after their death, which poses great risks during funerals.
Following an incubation period of between two and 21 days, five being the average according to a Swiss study, Ebola develops into a high fever, weakness, intense muscle and joint pain, headaches and sore throats.
That is often followed by vomiting and diarrhoea, skin eruptions, kidney and liver failure, and internal and external bleeding.
3. How can it be treated?
Because there is no approved drug treatment at present, patients are essentially re-hydrated.
A series of experimental treatments have nonetheless resulted in positive results among several patients.
The best known is ZMapp, a cocktail of three monoclonal (single cell) antibiotics developed through a Canadian/US partnership, of which several hundred doses are expected to become available by the end of this year.
Avignan, an anti-flu treatment developed by the Japanese firm Toyama Chemical, could be available rapidly but it has not yet been proven sufficiently effective against the Ebola virus.
Toyama Chemical says it has enough Avignan in stock for more than 20,000 people.
Two vaccines have been deemed promising by the WHO and their development has been speeded up. They are the Canadian drug VSV-EBOV, of which 1,000 doses were sent to the WHO this week, and cAd3-ZEBOV, made by the British pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline, which is not expected to be ready before 2016.
4. How can you protect yourself?
Ebola is best treated preventively, notably through hand-washing and using gel- or alcohol-based disinfectants. The required procedure is simple but must be done rigorously, and anyone suspected of exposure must check carefully for symptoms, especially fever.
It is recommended to keep a distance of several metres (yards) from infected people or bodies, and health-care providers must wear disposable protection clothing that includes masks and gloves.
Sites that have been contaminated must be disinfected.
5. How to defeat Ebola?
Patients must first be identified through laboratory tests because the symptoms resemble those of other diseases such as malaria. Those infected must be isolated.
Ebola treatment centres require substantial means: WHO estimates that it takes between 200-250 medical personnel to safely staff a centre of 70 beds.
All people in contact with an infected person must be closely watched for 21 days to ensure they have not contracted the disease.
The United Nations has estimated it will take around €780 million to fight Ebola over the next six months, but less than 40% of that amount has been received so far.
The money is needed to increase the number of available beds to 7,000 from 4,300 at present by 1 December and to provide the required number of personnel.
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Shane Ross is not interested in fighting. If he was he would be fighting to regulate the car insurance industry and be telling us where the income from 245,000 vehicles a day, most of them commercial that cross just one of eleven toll bridges is going.
@Tom Fennelly: The only thing they fight over is how much of a pay rise they are entitled too
@Tom Fennelly: he specifically told me that’s not his remit.
Mcgregor is an inspiration to the country. The most famous Irish man bar none. I’ll tell you what’s disturbing, hunting, horse racing, grey hound racing, bull fighting… They don’t have a choice. Mma two consenting adults throw down and suffer minimal injuries. What’s disturbing about that?
@Eoin de Barra: we don’t go much for bull fighting in Ireland Eoin…..bull$hit yes, but not bull fighting. As for “consenting adults” I think you’re on the wrong thread with that one :-)
@Eoin de Barra: He’s not an inspiration to me, or most of the people I know. I’ve never seen any of these fights, only see McGregor in news clips promoting himself and his brand, I chose not to buy into it as I am not a sheep.
@Sloop John G: good man sloop. I live in Spain. Bullfighting exists here. You’ll have to look up the meaning of consenting kid.
@Nick Drake: well done fella.
@Eoin de Barra: Yeah, minimal damage, tell that to Joao Carvalho’s family.
@Weldoninhio: people have died running half marathons. It was a freak incident.
@Eoin de Barra: People died from blunt force trauma running half marathons?? Tough 13 miles
@Weldoninhio: that was tragic for sure. But it was a freak accident. It’s not the norm for sure. Hunters shoot to kill. I think that’s a problem.
@Eoin de Barra: Hunters kill dumb animals, not humans. Should we start arresting lions for the murder of gazelles??
@Weldoninhio: more people have died from playing rugby and its blunt force trauma. Mr Ross is happy to go to those games
Most intelligent people won’t watch this farce.
@P C: you have met the McGregor fans haven’t you? They’ll definitely be watching it.
@JJ O Riordan: yeah the “McGregor Fans” are easily identified, they are the ones that dont have their heads up their backsides
@Jonny Chip: and their knuckles scrape off the ground as they walk.
@Jonny Chip: Exactly, they have their heads up McTapper’s backside.
@P C: you’ll be glued to It so
I would give Ross a small amount of respect for his views, however it’s to late to worry about McGregor, behaviour like wearing a polar bear fur coat and trying to Dance on the bonnet of someone else’s car indicates catastrophic and irreversible brain damage.
@Dave Hogan: haha brilliant.. comment of the day
@Dave Hogan: comment of the year
Mr Ross, it’s not a MMA fight its Boxing ,
@ger power1: it’s a freak show
@ger power1: It’s not boxing either. In boxing, both people need to be able to box.
Shiny new teeth and a ticket to every major sporting event in the land. It’s amazing what a Ministry will do for a man.
Pity those new teeth didn’t come with a bit of bite.
And in other news: Leo Varadkar cuts his front lawn and paschal donohue blows his nose. Wow!
@theupsidedown: Leo lives in an apartment and Pascal has no nose.
@John O’Shea: comment of the day lolol
@John O’Shea: who said anything about grass?
Ross cares about nooooo one only himself ! As much as I’m not a fan of Mc Gregor he’s twice the man Ross is and that saying something .
Good for him not pretending he likes mcgregor or MMA just because an Irish chap has done well in it. This fight is nothing to get too brotheled about
Ha ha who really cares what Shane Ross thinks about McGregor vs. Mayweather?
He’s job is to propagate sports, but with a lean towards highly lucrative ones that can bring tax revenues. Boxing and MMA typically won’t bring massive revenues in Ireland. Larger field based team sports do so his is what he will focus on for the most part.
If that changed then he’d be all over boxing , mma etc.
Deffo not going to watch now that my hero Shane Ross wont..
UPDATE: Mayweather VS McGregor cancelled after Irish minister for Sport declares he won’t watch it.
Is there a prize for worst headline ever?
the phantom: that’s a great new word “brotheled “I am stealing it of you
@Brian O Reilly: Me too.
Shane Ross… an utterly usrless and incompetent politician and aside from that comes across as an eccentric nerd who is a bit of a chancer. But as an Irish politician he isn’t in the minority unfortunately.
Shane Ross is an out of touch failed plonker ! You cannot push back a flooding tide. Cmac is huge and MMA is huge and we should be very proud that he represents our country with such passion and pride. Sure, there are elements in MMA which may appear to be unsavoury but that goes for nearly all contact sports. Ice hockey, USA football, rugby( union and league), boxing etc. His wishy washy ” I’ll be watching all the ladies rugby” etc is patronising and nauseating. Go back and do what you do best. Holding hands with Eamonn Dunphy !!!
I am to my shame going to watch it ,but at a local venue with all the other Romans
Never going to be fun watching fun watching someone (McGregor) get battered
Does anyone honestly give a fck whether Ross watches this fight or not?
Hickey knocked him out in Rio. Useless spineless worm. That said he knows farce and shit when he sees it.
@Eoin de Barra: Shane Ross should definitely do something about bull fighting in Ireland.
Who actually gives a f### what he thinks
Sean your on your own there .
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