A lot has been said and written about the EBOLA virus, but let’s look into the facts as to what the disease is and a little background about it.
The disease was previously called the Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the democratic republic of Congo.
The outbreak of this epidemic has been reported in the areas of West Africa and 2-3 people have been diagnosed with it in the state of Houston.
The origin of it according to the researches done till now is said to be animals such as Monkeys, Gorillas and chimpanzees with bats also said to be the one responsible for carrying the virus.
The symptoms include fever of up to or greater than 101 degrees with muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, severe headache, weakness, and abdominal pain and unexplained bruises/bleeding.
How it spreads is basically similar to Aids and it is understood that Aids spread when a Man had sex with a monkey, sounds absurd but it is a theory.
Coming to the question that can the virus spread in Pakistan, I personally believe that it can and I have my reasons in thinking so. The first reason is that it can spread through bodily contact which may not necessarily mean sex, exchange of saliva or through blood and semen. It may be a long shot but what if Pakistani citizen lives in the infected area and travels regularly to meet his family, he may as well be a potential carrier and he wouldn’t even know himself. Anything can happen, Aids started out as being in a specific area but how it rapidly it has spread is for the world to see. We cannot take anything for granted.
The question is we in a position to deal with it and the answer would be a No. If a person goes to any local doctor with symptoms of Ebola Virus the first thing that would be done is that he would be treated for a common cold, hoping the patient would feel better. It is all about raising awareness and if there is not any awareness things would get worse.
The ones cured of the virus develop antibodies, meaning that they won’t be affected by it in the next ten years that is if they survive the initial bout. Once diagnosed the virus remains in the body for three months even if the symptoms are cured. During that period the person infected is advised to not be in contact with anyone and refrain from touching the hunted meat most commonly practiced in West Africa. The human race is revolutionizing but so are the viruses and bacteria’s. I just hope and pray that God makes every one of us healthy and disease free.
