Janina Writes Here: Three Things I Learned about Ebola

At the Philippine Health Bloggers Society, many of our members have a niche of some sort, even when we all talk about health. Raim, for instance, focuses on LGBTs whereas I tend to zero in on women's issues (and everything that comes into mind, since this is Codswallop). Drei, another nurse blogger, looks at health in many different perspectives. He is, in my opinion, the most knowledgeable in terms of the more hardcore aspects of medical science - like the Hermione Granger of nursing in our little band of Muggle healers.

It was thus almost expected that when we got together yesterday afternoon for intellectual masturbation and coffee that Drei whipped out his laptop and gave me an impromptu lecture on Ebola, with Erick, another nurse, giving bits and pieces of info in between. Of course, I also did a bit of research on my own.

Met up with co-bloggers and RH nurses at Starbucks Araneta for intellectual masturbation and lots of overpriced but tasty coffee products and pastries. Food c/o Raim and Erick. Fun c/o Drei and me!

Since I'm mostly focused on RH and women's rights, among other things, the lecture from Drei was quite informative. Here are tidbits of the stuff I learned:

1. Ebola has a maximum 21-day incubation period.

Incubation period is defined as the time from which a person is exposed to illness until signs and symptoms of the disease appears. Why is this important? In the Philippines, it is protocol to quarantine people who have been determined to come from countries where Ebola is known to be present. Within this 21 days, if signs and symptoms appear regardless of reason (such as other, less threatening infection), then this person is isolated to lessen the possibility of transmitting the virus.

2. Ebola starts becoming contagious upon onset of signs and symptoms,usually fever.

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with body fluids - blood, semen, saliva, and other secretions. This virus can also be transmitted through materials soaked with bodily fluids, such as bedding. Personal protective equipment such as gloves and gowns is a requirement when handling patients with Ebola. However, in its incubation period, Ebola is not contagious.

3. Ebola does not have a pathognomonic sign and thus to determine if a person is really infected, lab tests must be done.

A pathognomonic sign is a sign or symptom specific to a certain disease. Since Ebola does NOT have this, lab tests such as the enzyme-linked imunosorbent assay (ELISA) are the best way to confirm if a person has Ebola.