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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : October 26, 2014 4:00 PM IST
The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed the total numbers of Ebola cases being 10,141 out of which 4,922 have died, according to the latest statistics released by the WHO on the state of the Ebola epidemic. WHO further said in a matter of seven months, 450 health workers have been infected, of whom 228 are in Liberia, 127 in Sierra Leone, 80 in Guinea, three in the US and one in Spain. Of that number, more than half (244) have died of the infection, the international organisation conveyed.
The WHO includes in its statistics the little two-year-old girl who died Friday in Mali, a case that has caused significant concern since the child made a long trip from Guinea to her homeland before dying, and was in contact with many people along the way.
US President Barack Obama said Saturday that 'we have to be guided by the facts not fear' following the alarm caused by the first diagnosis of the virus in teeming New York City.
'We have to be guided by the science. We have to be guided by the facts, not fear. Yesterday, New Yorkers showed us the way. They did what they do every day -- jumping on buses, riding the subway, crowding into elevators, heading into work, gathering in parks,' Obama said in his usual Saturday address, which this week he dedicated to the Ebola epidemic.
Obama delivered a calming message to the nation in a week when at the same time that the three infected people were pronounced free of the disease, word came about the infection of a doctor in New York.
The survival rate of this disease
The low survival rate of the Ebola is because the virus has an incubation period of 2 21 days (after which the symptoms start to appear). Also the early symptoms such as fever, headache, stomach pain and drop in blood pressure are not specific, which most people tend to ignore. And till the late symptoms appear, the condition worsens leading to death (which usually occurs due to low blood pressure). The fact that Ebola virus has no cure makes the disease more detrimental.
The only way to improve the survival chances of an Ebola infected person is early diagnosis and immediate treatment. While individuals who are at an increased risk of infection like healthcare workers and family members (friends), should follow precautionary measures to prevent the Ebola infection. Know how to prevent this infection, here.
Further, according to the study published in Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, WHO announced that the total number of Ebola cases is only going to exceed to a whopping 10,000, by December, 2014. Read here to know more. Read how countries like Ethiopia, Mexico, Cuba, China, are contributing for the fight against Ebola in West Africa.
With inputs from IANS
Image source: Getty Images
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