Blog #7: Guinea Ebola Outbreak: Bat Eating Banned to Curb Virus

Summary: The Ebola virus has reared it's ugly head in Guinea and has taken the lives of 62 of the country's people. It spreads by close contact with those infected with the disease, and there is no known vaccine or cure. The symptoms include internal and external bleeding, vomiting, and diarrhea. Numerous cases, in Guinea, have shown that the Ebola virus has been found in one of the country's local delicacy, bats. The bats are the natural reservoirs and pose a threat to all who come in contact with them. Guinea has stopped all sale and consumption of bats to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus. The World Health Organization has helped Guinea by offering much needed supplies and helped set up quarantine places in the country. These things will hopefully contain the virus and help prevent further spread of the virus to other countries. The health ministry in Guinea assures it's people that they are doing everything possible to keep the virus under control and will continue the efforts. Now sources are saying that recent cases of Ebola were not proved to have the virus. The virus usually appears in remote villages and places where the climate is warm, moist, and have bats.

Analysis: This is the first significant outbreak of the Ebola virus to date in Guinea! The Ebola virus or according to WHO, "Viral Hemorrhagic Fever" is a very severe and fatal illness (fatality rate is 90% in humans). In order for the disease to complete transmission into a human, the human must come in contact with bodily fluids of an animal that contains Ebola. In Guinea's case it was the fruit bat that was a delicacy to the people. This fluid from the animal gets into the bloodstream of the human and spreads. This causes bleeding internally and externally, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea. These symptoms gradually get worse, and according to WHO the infected human usually dies from a low blood pressure. No cure to this acute illness has been found yet, which makes this disease a big threat to not only the remote villages but everyone in contact with those who have the disease. The biggest threat in Guinea, which are the bats, are no longer a part of the consumer sale or consumption by any Guinea citizen. This is because of bats being a natural reservoir of this virus, and due to that fact it threatens the lives of anyone who eats or comes in contact with the bodily fluids of the bats. This is one step in a long process to eliminate the disease entirely. There are several quarantine places that people even suspected of the disease can go to so that they can prevent the spread. Again just another precautionary action to prevent others from dying by such an awful illness.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26735118
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/