As a rare strain of Ebola virus continues to spread within the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, here’s what Canadians have to know.
Are there various kinds of Ebola?
Yes. There are a number of strains of viruses that cause Ebola disease. Probably the most common are the Ebola virus, also called the Zaire strain, and Sudan virus, said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist on the University Health Network in Toronto.
The variety of Ebola causing the outbreak that’s happening immediately is named the Bundibugyo virus.
“Most outbreaks related to Ebola virus have been with the Zaire strain of Ebola virus. And that’s where many of the research has been specializing in vaccinations and therapeutics,” Bogoch said, noting that Canada’s National Microbiology Lab helped pioneer the primary Ebola virus vaccine.
But one in every of the troubling things concerning the Bundibugyo outbreak is that there are not any therapeutics or vaccines proven to work on that strain, he said.
Symptoms are similar for all strains of Ebola and might start with fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, in line with the World Health Organization.
That may progress to vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rash and impairment of kidney and liver function.
Internal and external bleeding, including blood within the gums or in stool, also can occur, but not as often as other symptoms.
“There’s a perception, I believe, that bleeding is a typical symptom, but that is definitely less frequent and really occurs at that late stage (of disease),” said Meaghan Thumath, an assistant professor of public health and emergencies on the University of British Columbia who worked with the World Health Organization during one other Ebola outbreak within the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019.
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One among the challenges in diagnosing Ebola is that several of the symptoms also occur in other infectious diseases similar to malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis, so diagnostic testing is important.
The incubation period for Ebola is 2 to 21 days. Individuals with Ebola usually are not contagious until they’ve symptoms, said Trish Newport, a Canadian who works as an emergency manager for Doctors Without Borders.
Ebola virus is spread through contact with bodily fluids.
“Individuals with Ebola get very sick. So it may possibly be within the vomit, diarrhea, blood (and) respiratory secretions,” Bogoch said.
“The individuals who are likely to get infected with Ebola virus sadly are members of the family of infected individuals who’re directly caring for an in depth contact (or) health-care providers who either don’t have access to appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) or usually are not using their PPE appropriately if there’s a breach,” he said.
Ebola will also be spread when burying individuals who have died from the virus if family members touch the body without proper precautions.
Monoclonal antibodies that help the body fight off disease can treat the Zaire strain, Bogoch said, but haven’t been proven to work in people infected with the Bundibugyo strain.
There are also vaccines that might be given to someone exposed to the Zaire strain to either head off infection or no less than reduce the severity of illness — but again, those haven’t been tested with Bundibugyo.
“The mainstay of treatment is supportive care,” Bogoch said.
“Meaning you wish a great hospital, you wish good medical management, you wish fluid and electrolyte replenishment because sadly, one in every of the features of Ebola virus is terrible nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, organ dysfunction, and sometimes hemorrhage. And you simply need to exchange the fluids and electrolytes meticulously … over a protracted time period.”
Is there a vaccine within the works for bundibugyo Ebola virus?
GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and other partners are working to evaluate ways to speed up development of candidate vaccines which might be within the research and development phase — however it may very well be months before doses are ready for clinical trials.
GAVI funds the stockpile of Ebola vaccines currently licensed to be used against Zaire Ebola and said in a news release that there are “currently no licensed vaccines for BVD (Bundibugyo virus disease).”
“Considering the extremely limited available evidence on cross-protection against non-Zaire species, any decision to make use of this vaccine in the present BVD outbreak would require further assessments and can occur in accordance with WHO guidance,” the news release issued Thursday said.
“(It may very well be used) only with the specific informed consent and understanding of affected communities that the good thing about the vaccine against BVD is currently unknown.”
If there have been an Ebola case in Canada, would we be ready?
There has never been an Ebola case in Canada.
On Wednesday, Ontario’s health ministry said it was testing someone who had recently returned from East Africa “out of an abundance of caution.”
Officials didn’t disclose which variety of Ebola the patient in Ontario was being tested for, or where within the region they travelled to.
A spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada said samples from the test were expected to reach Thursday on the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
If there was a case of Ebola in Canada, each Bogoch and Thumath said the country’s public health and hospital systems can be well-equipped to handle it.
But one of the crucial necessary ways for Canadians to guard themselves from Ebola is to speculate in stopping its spread elsewhere, they said.
“The longer outbreaks last and the larger they get, the upper the probability there may be for international dissemination,” Bogoch said.
“The chance is small. However it’s not zero per cent and the longer this goes and the larger this gets, the danger goes up.”
Thumath said global outbreaks matter, irrespective of where on this planet we live.
“As we all know, infectious diseases don’t respect borders,” she said.
“In North America, I believe there’s a perception like, ‘oh, these (outbreaks) only occur over there,’ but rapid containment is so crucial for global health security. And so the perfect thing we are able to do is to share our experts, to share our resources, and ensure that it’s contained.”