One of the most talked-about viruses of 2014 is Ebola. In the countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia alone there have been more than 932 deaths and 1,711 infected. There are a number of known ways of infection, but can Ebola also be transmitted through the air? That is the question following an experiment in which animals that were not in the same cage infected each other.
What is Ebola?
An outbreak of Ebola was detected in March 2014, probably starting in Guinea. The virus has already claimed almost 1,000 lives and this number is expected to continue to rise for some time to come. The countries where the Ebola virus has been detected so far are: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and probably Saudi Arabia. Ebola is a virus that causes a fever due to internal bleeding. There are a number of symptoms associated with the Ebola virus, these are:
- Fever
- Headache
- Joint pain
- muscle strain
- Weakness
- Diarrhea
- Vomit
- Stomach ache
- Decreased appetite
- Excessive bleeding
Symptoms can appear between 2 and 21 days after exposure to the virus, although between 8 and 10 days is average. The number of people who are infected and die is between 50% and 90%.
How can you get infected?
Infection with the Ebola virus can only occur if the patient shows symptoms. If this is the case, someone can become infected through the following ways:
- Blood
- Sweat
- Urine
- Saliva
- Sperm
- Feces
The virus can most likely be traced back to eating bats, which in turn also infect monkeys. Eating bats and monkeys is common in West African countries, but improper preparation of the meat can lead to infection with the virus. To avoid becoming infected, it is best to stay away from people who have become infected; traveling to countries where many people are infected is also not recommended. The virus has not yet occurred in the Netherlands and no measures have yet been taken by the government.
Ebola contamination through the air?
An article that appeared in 2012 in the journal Nature reported that in an experiment where a group of Ebola-infected pigs infected a group of monkeys. The pigs and monkeys were in separate cages, separated from each other, making physical contact impossible. The scientists who conducted this experiment indicate 3 possible mechanisms for the transmission of the virus, these are:
- Aerosol
- Small or large drops in the air
- Fomites
Transmission via an aerosol would mean that the virus can also be spread through the air. If this is the case, this makes the virus more dangerous than initially thought, as someone can become infected without having come into contact with the infected person. For example, when coughing, small and large droplets can remain in the air for a certain period of time, which means that contamination does not have to occur immediately after a coughing fit in which a lot of saliva is released. The monkeys may also have been infected by fomites, which are objects that can carry a virus. When cleaning the cages, the monkeys could have been infected by droplets splashing up from the ground. The scientists do indicate that the soil has been cleaned with a water spray under very low pressure, which reduces the chance of fomites that can reach that high.
This does not mean that the virus can be transmitted through the air, but this cannot be completely ruled out. This research is not mentioned in most information about the virus, even though it has been published in one of the most prestigious scientific journals.
Therapy
The Ebola virus does not yet have a successful cure for this. There is an experimental drug, developed in the US, called ZMapp. ZMapp has previously been successfully tested on monkeys, but not on humans until recently. Two American missionaries have contracted the virus and have been brought to America for treatment. The two Americans have received ZMapp, but it is still too early to say whether this medicine actually works.
