Ebola in Sierra Leone: Thousands forced to break Ebola quarantine to find food

A group of aid agencies says that thousands of people in Sierra Leone are being forced to violate Ebola quarantines to find food because deliveries are not reaching them. In order to prevent the spread of Ebola, large swaths of the West African country have been sealed off and within those areas many people have been ordered to stay in their homes.

The government, with help from the UN's World Food Programme, is tasked with delivering food and other services to those people. But Jeanne Kamara of Christian Aid in Sierra Leone said today that there are many 'nooks and crannies' in the country that are being missed. Her agency and others that belong to the Disasters Emergency Committee umbrella organization are trying to fill the gaps. (Read: Quarantine for Ebola what is it?)

Here are some symptoms of Ebola virus

Early symptoms of Ebola

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.

Late symptoms of Ebola

Skin rashes: Usually, on the 5th day of the illness, mild skin rashes may develop. These rashes are short-lived but if the patient lives long enough, the rashes start peeling, similar to sunburn. It may even start bleeding if the virus is present in large numbers under the skin surface.

Bleeding: Severe damage to the blood vessels can cause internal bleeding. The viral load may increase to an extent that the person may start bleeding from all openings including pores of the skin. (Read more about Ebola virus signs and symptoms you need to watch out for!)

With inputs from IANS

Photo source: Getty images

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