Ebola symptoms could be mistaken for those of other diseases – expert

Without a specific treatment or vaccine developed yet for Ebola, the stealth of the disease might make it difficult to catch if it gets into the country, an infectious disease specialist said Tuesday.

In a press conference, Dr. Ludovico Jurao, president of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (PSMID), said the Ebola virus is a tricky one since its symptoms could be mistaken as those of other diseases.

"The symptoms [for Ebola] are not as specific, pareho na rin ng trangkaso, AH1N1," he said, adding that this makes it difficult for doctors to diagnose someone with Ebola, unless they know that the patient has traveled to West Africa.

"Hindi mo talaga masasabing kaya mong pigilan because international travel is now shorter," he said. "'Yung iba rin kasing OFWs [overseas Filipino workers], they try to keep it [from officials]; I think it's human nature."

According to a report from Agence France-Presse, the Ebola virus can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhea, and in some cases shutting down organs and causing unstoppable bleeding.

However, Jurao said there are fewer chances for the virus to spread if it's contained immediately, since Ebola is not respiratory in kind, but instead passed on from one person to another through direct contact with body fluids like saliva and blood.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the incubation period (interval from infection to onset of symptoms) for Ebola is two to 21 days.

No vaccine yet

Jurao also disclosed that vaccine for the virus is only "in the development process," which may take 10 to 15 years.

"The process is so long, we don't expect one in one to two years," he said.

Currently, no vaccine or treatment is available in the market for the said virus. An experimental drug from the United States called ZMapp, however, has been sent to West Africa, where the largest Ebola outbreak in history is happening.

It has been administered to a number of patients, including two American missionary workers who contracted the disease in Monrovia.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has repeatedly stressed that the drug's effects are unknown, since it has not been through a process of rigorous clinical trials, according to AFP.

Measures in place in PHL

The country remains Ebola virus-free, and Jurao said that the government and private sectors are "in close coordination," mostly to drum up awareness about Ebola, which has already killed 1,013 people in West Africa.

"Magpa-plot out na kami [ng] strategies, 'yung gagawin natin to disseminate information, paano mape-prevent 'yung panic as a result of this information," he said. "'Yung gusto natin naman, na in addition sa control measures na ginagawa ng DOH [Department of Health] and ng private sector, ang information na correct ang madi-disseminate natin."

Ebola has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent, the WHO said, and the present outbreak in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea is by far the worst. Last week, the UN health organization declared it an international health emergency.

"Ibig sabihin no'n, nag-alarm na talaga 'yung WHO," said Jurao. "Problema na 'to, and this problem can grow if hindi natin sinabayan ng effective na control measures. Kung iba-base mo sa history, ang dami nang na-infect bago na-identify ... so by the time na na-identify 'yung cause ng ganu'ng sakit at 'yung death, na-spread na, so outbreak is already outside na doon sa usual core na area na madali mong i-contain." — BM, GMA News