tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Ebola continues to dominate the headlines, with reports of a resurgence last week in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Since the start of the West Africa epidemic, more than 24,000 people have been infected with the virus, and approximately half have survived. As the epidemic eventually subsides, attention will turn to the survivors and what the long-term implications are for them.
The immediate aftermath is grim. Ebola survivors return home from treatment centres weakened from the disease, often to find that many family members have died. Their possessions may have been burnt in an effort to stop the disease, as recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And they often face stigma and isolation.
It now appears that many survivors are also left with longer-term complications of the disease, including disabilities, that some doctors call post-Ebola Syndrome. Survivors are coming to clinics with uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease that can cause blindness. [1] Hearing loss also appears common, affecting 15 to 30 per cent of survivors. Medics are seeing survivors with pain and fatigue, and men complaining about impotence. Unsurprisingly, some also report psychological problems ranging from depression to memory loss and anxiety attacks.
http://www.scidev.net/global/disease/analysis-blog/disability-hurdle-ebola-survivors.html
The immediate aftermath is grim. Ebola survivors return home from treatment centres weakened from the disease, often to find that many family members have died. Their possessions may have been burnt in an effort to stop the disease, as recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And they often face stigma and isolation.
It now appears that many survivors are also left with longer-term complications of the disease, including disabilities, that some doctors call post-Ebola Syndrome. Survivors are coming to clinics with uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease that can cause blindness. [1] Hearing loss also appears common, affecting 15 to 30 per cent of survivors. Medics are seeing survivors with pain and fatigue, and men complaining about impotence. Unsurprisingly, some also report psychological problems ranging from depression to memory loss and anxiety attacks.
http://www.scidev.net/global/disease/analysis-blog/disability-hurdle-ebola-survivors.html