Living under the Constant Threat of Ebola Virus

Ebola Virus is a highly contagious virus which was first discovered in 1976 in Democratic Republic of Congo that causes hemorrhagic, acute fever in humans. The virus causes acute fever and death within few days of infection; the signs and symptoms include acute fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscular pain and coughing out blood to mention a few. Ebola virus spreads through contact with body fluids from an infected carrier and also contact with items that are contaminated with bodily fluids.  A person infected with Ebola will start seeing the symptoms between two days and three weeks with high risk of death of about 90 percent.

This article is centered on experience of survivors of Ebola and their family caregivers.   Concern and anxiety may be magnified given the nature of the disease. When the virus broke out there were widespread fear and panic as result of how fast the Virus spreads and kills so much, as mostly caregivers contracted the virus as they are the ones that have direct contact with Ebola Virus victims during care. The study was done in Uganda, the eastern part of Africa continent.

The article is about a study that evaluated the experience of Ebola Virus survivors and their family care givers after the outbreak of the Ebola Virus outbreak in Uganda. By understanding, the experience would help more in developing a wholesome ongoing nursing care to the victims and also the family care givers. Purposive sampling method was used where in-depth interview was used to get data. The result shows these survivors have the fear of being ostracize, stigmatized and traumatized with the experience.

Also, findings show Ebola Survivors and family Caregivers are affected physically, psychologically and emotionally from the fear of the Ebola Virus, as one of the survivors narrated that he thought he was not going to make it. He said that as his blood test results came, he was worried and sometimes refused to be treated, he wanted to be left alone, kept in one position until he died. Even the health care workers showed their unwillingness to care for patients with Ebola who presented bleeding symptoms.

I was able to deduce from the article that people still need more education on the Ebola Virus and how it is transmitted. As a result of poor education and awareness of Ebola Virus, this has made the stigmatization high in the communities affected which in turn causes psychological trauma for survivors and caregivers.

The need for more awareness and after support for Ebola Survivors can never be over-emphasized. Community based programs should be created which are aimed towards stigma eradication and people are educated more on the Ebola virus.

Furthermore counseling centers should be establishes that geared towards community outreach for survivors of Ebola virus and their care givers. This article pointed out that traumatic experience of Ebola did not seem to dissipate with the official end of the outbreak. The fear still exists of an outbreak anytime in the future, and Africa countries are yet to really figure out how to effectively care for those who contract the disease.

Africa still remain under constant threat from Ebola; private sectors, individuals, non-profit organizations, even the world health organization should join hands in helping African government in finding a lasting solution to this epidemics. Doing this will give nurses and public health officials the confidence on how to deal more effectively with similar frightening medical conditions in the future. Designated health facilities should also be created to provide prompt treatment and minimize the risk of death. The article further recommended that timely interventions should be implemented to counter the patient/caregiver fear, ostracism, and stigmatization to increase their resilience and thus foster their well-being.

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