Scared for humanity

In several countries of West Africa, an epidemic of Ebola fever capers the population, which believes in the mystical nature of the disease

The outbreak of control of the hemorrhagic Ebola hemorrhagic fever in West Africa requires immediate intervention of the world community, international non-governmental organizations say. Mortality from this disease, which at any moment can still reach Russia, Europe, Asia and America, reaches 90 percent, and there is no vaccine against Ebola's fever yet. The situation is aggravated by an extremely low level of medical care, hygiene and education in the countries where the epidemic has erupted.

The mortally dangerous fever of Ebola, named after the river in the Central African state of Zair (today it is the Democratic Republic of the Congo), in the area of which in 1976 the virus causing it was first discovered, today it destroys the population of the West African states of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. This is the poorest region of the planet, for decades, shaken by wars, overwhelming poverty, corruption of the ruling elite and political instability, where the boundaries of states laid in the 19th century in the era of divorce of African colonies , in our time, there are more on geographical maps and share many related nationalities that often lead an archaic A semi -nomadic lifestyle. In terms of general mortality per capita, it was West Africa who always ranked first place in the world.

A patient, struck by the Ebola fever virus. Guinea, June 2014

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), from Ebola’s fever in West Africa, starting from March of this year, when at least 400 people have already died from Guinea about the outbreak of the disease. Doctors emphasize that these data are very approximate, and the number of patients and dead can be much larger - the ebola flash is recorded in more than 60 inaccessible areas in a huge, densely populated area. Moreover, there are as many as five strains of the Ebola fever - but the so -called “Sudanese” and “Zair” are most dangerous for humans, says medical expert Sofia Sigmund : says medical expert:

- The latter was just opened in 1976, due to the fact that a certain Zaire teacher visited the tropical forest, infected with this fever, and scientists were able to determine which virus and what type of this person caused. This virus has extremely high virulence . It may be transmitted by airborne droplets, but this is not proven. It is believed that the Ebola virus is transmitted through the internal secrets of the body, through the blood, sexually and, very likely, through objects with which the patient is in contact. Since this virus was identified and defined, WHO registered about 20 different epidemics of Ebola’s fever, but the current, perhaps, is the most large -scale in the number of victims. This fever is incredibly mysterious, I am not afraid of this word. There are different hypotheses how this virus is transmitted to a person initially from the environment, but, again, these are assumptions. It is also dangerous because even survivors can remain cripples for life. Symptoms often resemble the symptoms of other tropical diseases, often Ebola is taken as a typhoid fever, cholera. And when working with this virus, the so -called "fourth" degree of biological protection is needed, the highest! For comparison, when working with a human immunodeficiency virus, only a “second” degree is needed.

A map of cases of Ebola fever in Africa from 1979 to 2008. Western Africa has still passed the disease

- Were there at least isolated cases of Ebola fever in Russia and in the West, and how accurately and quickly this disease is diagnosed?

- This virus is not immediately detected, but with the help of five complex tests. And these tests can only be made in a very well -prepared virological laboratory. That is, when this virus is already determined, perhaps the whole village is ill. And of course, it is possible that this virus with people who leave the infected territory, with air passengers, may be in Europe. So far, cases of disease in Europe are not registered, with the exception of infection of virologists in laboratories. As far as I know, two female virusists in Russia died from the Ebola virus several years ago by negligence, ”says medical expert Sofia Sigmund .

The leaders and volunteers of the international organization "Doctors without borders" who provide assistance to the population in the outbreak of diseases of the countries, they say that their capabilities, drugs, human, financial, are almost exhausted in the fight against the epidemic. At the same time, according to them, many politicians, religious and public leaders of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, as well as other neighboring countries, such as Mali, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, the cat d'Ivoire, refuse to recognize the scale of a possible catastrophe. Most of the ordinary inhabitants of these states are so superstitious and illiterate that they believe in the mystical nature of the disease and, having felt the first malaise, seek help from familiar sorcerers and healers, trying to hide from Western doctors who are not trusted and dissolved by the most wild rumors about their work.

The hand of a child who has an ebola fever

As the employees of "doctors without borders" in Sierra Leone, for example, even local police, aimed at helping doctors, have various amulets and amulets to protect themselves from "damage", which they believe, and causes fever. The mass of patients simply escaped from hospitals and disappeared, thereby contributing to the spread of the epidemic - from the fears that their death is beneficial to Western doctors and parts of their bodies and organs for rituals of black magic are needed. Several doctors barely avoided lynching from the relatives of the victims. Some measures of the state, covered by the outbreak of Ebola, nevertheless accept. Even criminal liability was introduced into Sierra Leone and Liberia for hiding patients with Ebola fever. Schools and public institutions are closed, as well as border transitions in areas accessible to government officials.

Why is Ebola's fever of many dozens of dangerous tropical diseases still so famous in the world? This name is already found even in mass culture, in cinema, comics as a synonym for "scarecrow for civilization." Once again, Sofia Sigmund's opinion:

Wild animals meat in West Africa is one of the possible sources of infection of Ebola fever

- This disease is associated with dark, or black, Africa, as we call Africa south of Sahara, where different tribes, different beliefs, people still build their lives in accordance with the instructions of shamans and sorcerers. Some raid of mysticism, punishing the hands of the Higher Forces, is indeed associated with this fever-due to the fact that its etymology is not determined and no real means of protection against it are defined. No antivirus drugs work! This is a sword of Damocles, which can sink at any moment - but so far it does not fall. And this mystical, emotional component of some people of the world of Western culture will not say what inspires, but gives them certain food for thought. Because there are different versions, assumptions that epidemics occur when our planet wants to "free", that the planet is "cleaned", and in this regard, mothers and epidemics come.

- The medical world, pharmacologists, virologists continuously monitor the emergence of new viruses, develop vaccines and prevent mass epidemics. Ebola’s fever has been known for almost 40 years, but the vaccine has not been invented against it. Why? Due to the fact that it is economically unprofitable for large companies to spend money on saving Africans? But there are state research, military programs, after all ...

- Such a vaccine was developed. In particular, the Pentagon took a rather solid step in cooperation with the US National Institute of Health, since at a certain stage the military believed that, theoretically, the Ebola fever can be dangerous for the American army. The vaccine was tested on monkeys, and it gave an 80 percent positive result. It was a special “antivirus cocktail” of three components, each of which could suppress the fever at the very beginning, and the necessary substances for compiling this cocktail were taken from plants related tobacco. In 2012, even the University of Arizona, the University of Arizona made it to know that they have some progress. And, in my opinion, in 2013, representatives of American military medicine said that another five to seven years-and the vaccine from the most terrible strain of this virus would be ready. But a year ago, the American military department made it clear that it no longer intends to spend their funds and research is curling up. It remains only to assume that the Americans considered that the threat was made up.

Test for the presence of an ebola fever in the blood virus

As for pharmaceutical companies - I read about the development of one American company, which also came close to a fairly good, effective tool, but did not find understanding in terms of the commercial benefit of the project ... Today no one is engaged in the development of this vaccine, since it is not clear who it will finance. And private pharmacological companies are not interested in this. After all, the poor African population uses the services of shamans and believes that the fever of Ebola can defeat a mixture of coffee, raw bow and some amulets there! If they still believe in it, then, of course, they will not pay for expensive medicines that companies from Europe or America will offer them.

It turns out, on the one hand, that, it seems, the threat hangs over everyone, and on the other - that this is the case of only Africa

It turns out, on the one hand, that, it seems, the threat hangs over everyone, and on the other, that this is the case of one Africa. It is extremely difficult to cope with your own forces and finance the fight against this flared epidemic. If Ebola has a good care from the very beginning to the sick fever, he theoretically can recover, but the minimum leaving cost is a thousand euros per patient. That is, this is huge money, and there are clearly no large pharmacological companies for the sake of love for humanity, ”the medical expert Radio Liberty Sofia Sigmund suggests.

The World Health Organization said that several hundred infectious disease specialists, virologists and epidemiologists will be additionally sent to the state epidemic in the near future. However, according to WHO experts, the spread of Ebola’s fever forces only this and a number of other international organizations, it may not be able to restrain the leading countries of the world without an adequate reaction of governments of the world. The contagence index , that is, infection, Ebola fever - 95 percent, and the incubation period of the disease reaches three weeks.