Post-Ebola Syndrome – Thousands of Ebola survivors are suffering from complications of the disease.
Ebola infected West Africans who spent months in isolation and finally made it through the outbreak are currently facing another crisis. They are suffering from chronic conditions such as joint pain and eye inflammation, reported by the global health experts.
As the outbreak seem to be waning, the recent medical update on the patients is alarming. There are more than 13,000 survivors in the three countries i.e. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Many Ebola survivors are having lingering health problems as well as psychological troubles like depression and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
World Health Organizations (WHO) said that Ebola survivors are most likely to suffer ongoing medical problems and their health is becoming “an emergency within an emergency”.
Half of the Ebola infected people who fought off the virus now report severe joint pain that they can’t even work. About quarter of the survivors reported eye problems including inflammation, impaired vision and blindness. In addition, increasing rates of depression, PTSD and social exclusion are also affecting the lives of the survivors.
Many people who recover from the infection also have persistent headaches, extreme fatigue and difficulty concentrating. Another major worry is the presence of the aforementioned virus in semen for months after a man has recovered from the illness, posing a risk of sexual transmission.
Researchers believe the vision problems experienced by the survivors are probably linked to the virus persisting in the eyes. Moreover, studies are being conducted to determine how long the virus persists in the semen.
Ebola epidemic in West Africa is the largest ever seen and the first case was reported in December 2013. Since then, it has infected more than 27,000 people and killed almost 11,000 of them in the African nations. IMAGE/baltimoresun.com
