Emerging Infectious Diseases: Focus on Ebola

Maryam Othman MD, MPHDirector, Global & Community Health

Assistant Professor, Western University of Health science

Global and Community Health

What you know about

Infectious Diseases

Lo que usted necesita saber

sobre Enfermedades

Infecciosashttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1pUoYBbEpI

Global and Community Health

Emerging infectious diseases cab defined as infectious that have newly appeared in the population, or have existed but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Global and Community Health

1.The global human population explosion 2.Human travel and commerce 3.Changes in human behavior

4.Other reasons include: The breakdown of public health systems Poverty War Famine.

Reasons Behind the Spread

Global and Community Health

Emerging Diseases in The USDisease (source) Cases Outcome Year

West Nile Virus (Israel) Thousands Endemic 1999

SARS (China) 8096 Controlled 2003

Monkeypox (Africa) 71 Controlled 2003

Novel Flu H1N1 (Mexico) Thousands Endemic 2009

MERS-CoV (Arabian Peninsula) Hundreds Epidemic 2014

Enterovirus D68 Hundreds Epidemic 2014

Ebola Thousands Epidemic 2014

http://www.cdc.gov/about/report/2013/reports/emerging-infectious-diseases.html

Global and Community Health

Global and Community Health

Ebola: Epidemiology• Ebola virus disease (EVD),

formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a sever, often fatal illness in humans (case fatality rate of up to 90%)

• Current outbreak in Africa, largest ever recorded.

• The natural reservoir of the virus is suspected to be bats

Global and Community Health

Ebola: Epidemiology

Global and Community Health

2014 Ebola Outbreak – Case Counts

Country Total cases Total Deaths

Guinea 1519 862

Liberia 4249 2484

Sierra Leone 3410 1200

Senegal 1 0

Spain 1 0

Nigeria 20 8

United States 3 1

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/case-counts.html

Global and Community Health

Ebola: Epidemiology• Transmission occurs via

contact with infected human body fluids (blood, saliva, vomitus, stool, semen, breast milk, and tears)

• Nosocomial transmission ( hospital-acquired infection ) is a key driver of outbreaks

• The incubation period is 2-21 days

Global and Community Health

You Can get Ebola from:• Touching the blood or

body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola.

• Touching contaminated objects, like needles.

• Touching infected animals, their blood or other body fluids, or their meat. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/resources/infographics.html

Global and Community Health

Usted solo puede contraer el virus del Ébola por lo siguiente

• Al tocar la sangre o los líquidos corporales de una persona que tiene la enfermedad del Ébola o que murió por ella.

• Al tocar objetos contaminados, como agujas.

• Al tocar animales infectados, su sangre, otros líquidos corporales o su carne.

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/resources/infographics.html

Global and Community Health

Ebola: Clinical• Ebola start with flu-like illness: fever, sever

headache, muscle pain and weakness vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

• Hemorrhagic symptoms include rash, bruising, and bleeding from any puncture sites.

• The late stage of the disease: shock, seizures, organ failure, coma and death.

Global and Community Health

Ebola: Diagnosis & Treatment • Diagnostic testing

Blood test performed by special laboratories.

• Treatment:

No vaccine available (only experimental) No FDA approved specific treatment (only

experimental) Treatment is focused on supportive &

symptomatic care

Global and Community Health

See it here: http://www.wiredhealthresources.net/mod-ebola.html Download it here: http://www.wiredhealthresources.net/training/filling-station.html

Ebola – WiRED International

Global and Community Health

Ebola and Influenza Influenza and Ebola

may share some of the same symptoms, but there is very low risk of catching Ebola and very high risk for catching the flu.

The flu virus is much more common and more easily spread than Ebola.

Global and Community Health

GraciasQuestions

(Preguntas) ?