What we know (and don't know) about Ebola - Alex Gendler

In the summer of 1976,

Thalcaan 1976 lioah,

a mysterious epidemic suddenly struck two central African towns,

Tihnung zawtnak pakhat cu Africa ramlai khuapi pa 2 ah a hung chuak,

killing the majority of its victims.

Zawtnak a ingmi tamdeuh nunnak a rak liam.

Medical researchers suspected

Sii lathlaitu hna nih an zumhmi cu

the deadly Marburg virus to be the culprit.

Thihnak phaktertu Marburg rungrul hi zawtnak hrampi asi kho ti hi a si.

But what they saw in microscope images was an entirely new pathogen,

Nain, seh in an bih tikah an hmuhmi rungrul cu a dang a rak si diam,

which would be named after the nearby Ebola river.

A hnu ah, naihniam um Ebola tiva min in an auh lan.

Like yellow fever or dengue,

Lufah le raifanh zawnak bantukin,

the disease caused by the Ebola virus is a severe type of hemorrhagic fever.

Ebola hi a fak tukmi thi dawp zawtnak phun a si ve.

It begins by attacking the immune system's cells

Pum cung zawtnak khamhtu sell pawl dohnak in a thawkmi a si.

and neutralizing its responses,

cun, annih i lehnak thazang an hloh tikah,

allowing the virus to proliferate.

rungrul pawl cu an karh thluahmah.

Starting anywhere from two to twenty days after contraction,

Cuticun dohnak a thawk hnu ni 2 in ni 20 karlak chungah,

initial symptoms like high temperature,

Zawtnak hmelchunh hna cu taklinh,

aching,

taksafahnak,

and sore throat

le hromfah,

resemble those of a typical flu,

cumpi raifanh hna,

but quickly escalate to vomiting,

cun, luaknak,

rashes,

Pumcung ah senbo chuahnak

and diarrhea.

le chungtliknak hna an si.

And as the virus spreads,

Rungrul an hung karh bantukin,

it invades the lymph nodes and vital organs,

Thirang le pum vengtu pawl a hrawhhral hna,

such as kidneys and liver, causing them to lose function.

Kal le thin te hna an riantuannak thazaang a derthawnter.

But the virus itself is not what kills Ebola victims.

Asinain, amah Ebola zawtnak rungrul nih mizaw a thihter kho hna lo.

Instead, the mounting cell deaths trigger an immune system overload,

Nain a khawm lengmang mi a thimi cell pawl nih pum riantuanning an hrawh.

known as a cytokine storm,

Cucu, cytokine thlichia tiah auh a si,

an explosion of immune responses that damages blood vessels,

pum riantuanning a hung hrawh tikah, thi cell pawl a hrawhral hna,

causing both internal and external bleeding.

chunglei he lenglei thi chuahnak a hung um.

The excessive fluid loss and resulting complications

Cutin thihang pawl sunghnak harsatnak hna ruangah,

can be fatal within six to sixteen days of the first symptoms,

Zawtnak a lang hnu ni 6 in 16 chungah thihnak a chuahpi kho,

though proper care and rehydration therapy

tha tein izohkhenh in ikilveng thiam ahcun,

can significantly reduce mortality rates in patients.

A zawmi hna an nunnak a sauter deuh kho.

Fortunately, while Ebola is highly virulent,

Vanthat ah, Ebola hi a fak tukmi zawtnak a si nain,

several factors limit its contagiousness.

Chawnh lo dingin khampiaktu thil tampi an um hi a si.

Unlike viruses that proliferate through small, airborne particles,

Thli le thil hme tete in chawnh le karh khawhmi rungrul hna bantukin siloin,

Ebola only exists in bodily fluids,

Ebola cu pum in a chuakmi a hang hna lawngah a nung kho,

such as saliva,

Cu hna cu Cil,

blood,

thi,

mucus,

khak,

vomit,

or feces.

luak

siloah adang hang.

In order to spread,

An karhnak hnga caah,

these must be transmitted from an infected person into another's body

Mizaw hna sin in hawidang pum cung leiah,

through passageways such as the eyes, mouth, or nose.

mit, hmur le hnar in an ithialchin a herh.

And because the disease's severity

Zawtnak a fahnak le

increases directly along with the viral load,

rungrul hna saumau an isentlainak ruangah,

even an infected person is unlikely to be contagious

Zawtnak tlak cangmi mizaw hman nih, zawtnak hmelchunh

until they have begun to show symptoms.

a pum ah a lang hlan cu midang chawnh khawh a si lo.

While Ebola has been shown to survive on surfaces for several hours,

Ebola rungrul cu a lenglanghnak ah suimilam tampi chung an nung kho i,

and transmission through sneezing or coughing is theoretically possible,

khuh le hachio in chawnh khawh a si tiah ruah a si ko nain,

virtually all known cases of contraction have been through direct contact

Zapi hnatlaknak cu zawtnak chawnhning cu a zaw tukmi minung taksa he

with the severely ill,

ithih-tonghnak ruangah hi a si.

with the greatest risk posed to medical workers

Ngandamnak lei riantuantu hna le,

and friends or relatives of the victims.

mizaw i a hawikawm le rualchan caah tih nung tuk a si.

This is why, despite its horrifying effects,

Cutin a si caah, Ebola hi tihnung a si nain,

Ebola has been far less deadly overall than more common infections,

Ebola zawtnak nih adangdang zawtnak hna nain tihnung deuhlo zawtnak a si lo,

such as measles,

lufahnganfah,

malaria,

raifanh

or even influenza.

asiloh totkuai.

Once an outbreak has been contained,

Zawtnak a chuahnak tlaih tik ahcun,

the virus does not exist in the human population

Minung lakah hi rungrul hi

until the next outbreak begins.

Nehhnu ah a chuak than hlan a um ti lai lo.

But while this is undoubtedly a good thing,

Hi thil hi thiltha a si cu a fiang ko nain,

it also makes Ebola difficult to study.

Cu thil lila nihcun Ebola kong theihhngalhnak ding a harter.

Scientists believe fruit bats to be its natural carriers,

Scientists nih Papalak hi zawtnak chuahtertu a si tiah an zumh,

but just how it is transmitted to humans remains unknown.

Nain, zeitindah minung a chawnh hna timi cu hngalh a si rihlo.

Furthermore, many of the countries where Ebola outbreaks occur

Cupinah, Ebola chuahnak ram tampi hna ah

suffer from poor infrastructure and sanitation,

inn le ti thianhhlimnak thazaang a der kha hmuh khawh a si.

which enables the disease to spread.

Cucaah, zawtnak a karh a fawi.

And the poverty of these regions,

Cutin, ram sifahnak le,

combined with the relatively low amount of overall cases

zeidang kongah zaangdernak fonh tikah

means there is little economic incentive for drug companies to invest in research.

phaisa tampi dih in hi zawtnak kong hlathlai ding cu a har ko.

Though some experimental medicines have shown promise,

Cheukhat hneksaknak hna cu lungtling an si ko i,

and governments are funding development of a vaccine,

Zawtnak khamhnak caah Cozah nih an itimhtuah ve,

as of 2014,

2014 lio thilsining kan zoh ahcun,

the only widespread and effective solutions to an Ebola outbreak remain

Ebola zawtnak karh lonak caah hman bikmi thiltining hna cu,

isolation,

hmundang tein umnak,

sanitation,

Tithianhhlimnak,

and information.

le thawngzamhnak hna an si.