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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : October 14, 2014 12:54 PM IST
Teresa Romero, Spanish nurse's aide infected by the Ebola virus remained in a 'very serious' condition. Romero is the first person outside Africa to contact the deadly Ebola virus after attending to Manuel Garcia Viejo, a missionary priest who was repatriated to Spain from Sierra Leone for treatment. Sierra Leone is one of the African countries severely affected by the Ebola epidemic.
She was admitted Oct 7 to the Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, and placed in isolation. Fifteen others who had contact with her, including her husband and the medical personnel who treated her when she experienced the first symptoms of Ebola were held for observation. But they have shown no sign of the deadly disease. (Read: Ebola virus is mutating rapidly say scientists)
'At this time there is no person capable of transmitting the disease in Spain except Romero,' said Fernando Rodriguez Artalejo, head of preventative medicine and public health at the Autonomous University of Madrid's School of Medicine. Romero 'will be cured when there is no virus left in her body', the doctor indicated, and acknowledged that while the patient's condition is still 'serious' with each passing day she is getting better. (Read: Ebola in India: Will experimental drug ZMapp ever come to India?)
How the Ebola virus spreads in humans?
The recent Ebola outbreak has been considered as an international emergency by the WHO due to the havoc it has created worldwide. The virus has claimed many innocent lives and is posing to be the toughest challenge in the world of medicine and science till date, with no proven cure in place or a vaccination to prevent the outspread of the epidemic. However, recent studies have shown some success in treating the virus with experimental drugs. While no one yet knows the exact way how this notorious virus got into the human body, thereby attacking the immune system and claiming lives, here are ways in which it can spread across the human race.
It spreads through infected body fluids: Ebola spreads from one infected person to the other through direct contact of the skin and other bodily fluids. The virus is present in the body fluids of an infected person which includes blood, semen, sweat, urine, saliva, feaces, vomit, etc. If a healthy person comes in contact with the infected body fluids that enters his system through open wounds, blood transfusions or through the eyes, ears, mouth, nostrils, genital area, it can infect an individual within a span of two to 21 days depending on the severity of the viral attack. Having unsafe sex with an infected person also can lead to the viral infection.
It can spread by using infected needles and other contaminated objects: This is obvious as infected needles and other contaminated objects might have remnants of infected body fluids. If this gets into the system of a healthy individual, it can spread the deadly disease rapidly. Read more about How the Ebola virus spreads in humans
With inputs from IANS
Photo source: Getty images
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