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Ebola outbreak in West Africa seems to have taken a toll on every aspect of people’s lives. The biggest day of Eid al-Adha, one of most celebrations in Islam, is being spent silently as people are gripped with Ebola fear. The outbreak seemed to have casted a pall today over all celebrations. In Guinea, the day appeared almost as any other. The usual fields and squares where people gather to pray on the holiday were empty, as people heeded their government’s warning to avoid large gatherings.
People slaughtered their sheep the traditional rite of Eid in small groups at home, rather than at the usual large parties. Merchants complained that few people bought new clothes, as is typical for the holiday, called Tabaski in many parts of West Africa. ‘Look at how people are unkempt. Poorly dressed. Have you ever seen Tabaski celebration like this? I never have,’ said Mamoudou Conde, a 28-year-old who sells car parts in Conakry, Guinea’s capital.
In Sierra Leone, the United Council of Imams warned believers not to shake hands or embrace. It was a reminder that even on holidays, the Health Ministry’s ‘ABC’ guidelines Avoid Bodily Contact must be followed. Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of the sick, and with no licensed treatment available, the only way to stop an outbreak is to completely isolate those who are infected. But with more than 7,400 people believed infected, there are far more sick people than beds in isolation units to treat them.
In a bid to stop the spread, the hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have encouraged people to keep their distance and wash their hands frequently. The disease has also touched Nigeria and Senegal, but neither country has had a new infection in weeks. The United States confirmed its first case this week. ‘Ebola is undermining the very foundations of our traditions,’ said Idrissa Sall, a 32-year-old driver in Conakry. ‘How can I greet my parents, my children when I’m barred from giving kisses?’
The outbreak, the largest ever for Ebola, has taken a considerable toll on health workers, sickening 382 of them. On Saturday, officials announced that two health workers who became infected with Ebola have recovered from the disease after treatment abroad: a French nurse, who worked for Doctors Without Borders in Liberia, and a Senegalese epidemiologist with the World Health Organization in Sierra Leone.
Early symptoms of Ebola
Fever: Increase in body temperature is the first defence mechanism that the body uses to kill any foreign particle invading the body. When Ebola infects the body, it causes a release of various compounds like cytokines and histamines that pass on the signals of increasing body temperature. In fact, Ebola virus disease is also called the Ebola haemorrhagic fever, where the temperature can go above 38.6°C or 101.5°F.
Headache: It is the most common symptom of Ebola infection after fever, present in almost 96 percent of the cases. Nausea and headache along with fever present a typical case of common cold and flu. At this stage, the symptoms can be confused with other common infections.
Stomach pain: A few viral particles invade the liver and starts destroying the hepatocytes. New virions start damaging the intestinal cells causing abdominal pain.
Drop in blood pressure: The cytokines and histamines released by the immune cells, soon after the entry of the virus in the body, increases the permeability of the cells lining the blood vessels. This causes leakage of water from the blood into the surrounding tissues and a sudden drop in blood pressure.
With inputs from PTI
Photo source: Getty images
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Latest Ebola News: Ebola fear masks Eid celebrations in West Africa
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