Scientists and public health officials alike have argued
over the routes of transmission of Ebola virus for a while, especially since
the start of the recent outbreak in West Africa. While officially Ebola is
considered to be spread only via bodily fluids, there remains some debate. Many
are convinced that it can in fact be spread through respiratory droplets as
well.
While this possibility is a scary one, it’s one that is “very
likely”, according to a team of researchers led by Michael Osterholm, an
epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota. Blood, feces, and vomit are
undeniably the primary routes of virus transmission; however, Dr. Osterholm
maintains that tiny droplets of virus containing fluid hang in the air and are
occasionally breathed in by others. This, he argues, provides an unrecognized method
of transmission of the Ebola virus. Evidence the team uses to draw this
conclusion includes Ebola virus found on the outside of face masks worn by
health workers caring for Ebola victims. In addition, as described in Richard
Preston’s The Hot Zone, Ebola virus
has been passed between monkeys through a respiratory route.
While this evidence in no way proves that the Ebola virus strain
responsible for this massive outbreak can pass between humans by a respiratory
route, it should serve to keep the door of the public and more importantly of
the scientific community open to this possibility. Hopefully more rigorous research
will continue to be done over the course of this outbreak, so we can better understand
the nature of this disease and more effectively manage it in the future.
-
Eddie
No comments:
Post a Comment