The WHO says men can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovering from Ebola. The cap forms part of a protective hood covering the head and neck. It offers medical workers an added layer of protection, ensuring that they cannot touch any part of their face whilst in the treatment centre. Goggles, or eye visors, are used to provide cover to the eyes, protecting them from splashes.
The goggles are sprayed with an anti-fogging solution before being worn. In the new guidelines, health workers are advised to use a single use disposable full face shield as goggles may not provide complete skin coverage.
Covers the mouth to protect from sprays of blood or body fluids from patients. When wearing a respirator, the medical worker must tear this outer mask to allow the respirator through. A respirator is worn to protect the wearer from a patient's coughs. According to guidelines from the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres MSF , the respirator should be put on second, right after donning the overalls. A surgical scrub suit, durable hospital clothing that absorbs liquid and is easily cleaned, is worn as a baselayer underneath the overalls.
It is normally tucked into rubber boots to ensure no skin is exposed. The overalls are placed on top of the scrubs. These suits are similar to hazardous material hazmat suits worn in toxic environments. The team member supervising the process should check that the equipment is not damaged. A minimum two sets of gloves are required, covering the suit cuff. When putting on the gloves, care must be taken to ensure that no skin is exposed and that they are worn in such a way that any fluid on the sleeve will run off the suit and glove.
Medical workers must change gloves between patients, performing thorough hand hygiene before donning a new pair. Heavy duty gloves are used whenever workers need to handle infectious waste. Ebola health workers typically wear rubber boots, with the scrubs tucked into the footwear. If boots are unavailable, workers must wear closed, puncture and fluid-resistant shoes. Fighting the fear and stigmatisation surrounding Ebola is one of the greatest challenges health workers face.
But health workers themselves are becoming scared of treating patients, and are demanding better protective clothing when exposed to patients. Ebola has already claimed the lives of dozens of doctors and nurses in the Ebola-hit region, including Sierra Leone's only virologist and Ebola expert, Sheik Umar Khan.
This has put a further strain on the health services of these West African states, which have long faced a shortage of doctors and hospitals. How not to catch Ebola. Profile: Dr Sheik Umar Khan. Saving lives on the Ebola front line. No handshakes, no sex.
You must keep yourself isolated and seek professional help. Patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. There are no vaccines, though some are being tested, along with new drug therapies. The WHO ruled in August that untested drugs can be used to treat patients in light of the scale of the current outbreak. The experimental drug ZMapp has been used to treat several people who contracted Ebola: Two US aid workers and a Briton have recovered after taking it but a Liberian doctor and a Spanish priest have died.
But the US pharmaceutical company that makes it says it has for now run out of it. Patients with Ebola frequently become dehydrated so they should drink solutions containing electrolytes or receive intravenous fluids. Scientists say flying foxes probably brought the Zaire Ebola virus into cities. The Hantavirus describes several types of viruses. It is named after a river where American soldiers were first thought to have been infected with the Hantavirus, during the Korean War in Symptoms include lung disease, fever and kidney failure.
Spy assassinations: The top five deadly poisons. Just how dangerous is mercury, anyway? The various strains of bird flu regularly cause panic - which is perhaps justified because the mortality rate is 70 percent.
But in fact the risk of contracting the H5N1 strain - one of the best known - is quite low. You can only be infected through direct contact with poultry. It is said this explains why most cases appear in Asia, where people often live close to chickens. A nurse in Nigeria was the first person to be infected with the Lassa virus. The virus is transmitted by rodents. Cases can be endemic - which means the virus occurs in a specific region, such as in western Africa, and can reoccur there at any time.
Scientists assume that 15 percent of rodents in western Africa carry the virus. The Junin virus is associated with Argentine hemorrhagic fever. People infected with the virus suffer from tissue inflammation, sepsis and skin bleeding. The problem is that the symptoms can appear to be so common that the disease is rarely detected or identified in the first instance. The Crimea-Congo fever virus is transmitted by ticks.
It is similar to the Ebola and Marburg viruses in the way it progresses. During the first days of infection, sufferers present with pin-sized bleedings in the face, mouth and the pharynx. The Machupo virus is associated with Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, also known as black typhus. The infection causes high fever, accompanied by heavy bleedings.
It progresses similar to the Junin virus. The virus can be transmitted from human to human, and rodents often the carry it. It is transmitted by ticks, but scientists say it is difficult to determine any carriers. It is assumed that rats, birds and boars could be hosts. People infected with the virus suffer from high fever, strong headaches and muscle pain which can cause bleedings.
Dengue fever is a constant threat. If you're planning a holiday in the tropics, get informed about dengue. Transmitted by mosquitoes, dengue affects between 50 and million people a year in popular holiday destinations such as Thailand and India.
But it's more of a problem for the 2 billion people who live in areas that are threatened by dengue fever. Being diagnosed with cancer is a shock that hits you hard.
And yet almost half of all cancer cases could be prevented. Smoking alone triggers about every fifth tumor. The toxic cigarette smoke does not only cause lung cancer but many other kinds of tumors as well. Smoking is the most frequent self-imposed cause for cancer, but not the only one.
In second place of cancer-causing agents: obesity. Why it causes cancer? Enhanced insulin levels increase the risk of almost all sorts of cancer, especially when it comes to kidney, gall bladder, and oesophagus cancer. Overweight women produce increasing amounts of female sex hormones in their fat tissue and hence have a higher risk for uterine or breast cancer.
People who don't move enough are especially likely to get cancer. Long-term studies show that exercising prevents tumors. After all, working out lowers the insulin levels while preventing you from gaining weight. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. Support science journalism. Knowledge awaits. See Subscription Options Already a subscriber? Create Account See Subscription Options.
0コメント