Ebola, Marburg, dengue: what are hemorrhagic fevers and why are they dangerous

What are hemorrhagic fevers

Hemorrhagic fevers are viral infections in which are damagedViral hemorrhagic fevers / Mayo Clinic walls of tiny blood vessels. At first, because of this, many microthrombi are formed, and when the supply of enzymes responsible for clotting ends, bleeding begins, which is difficult to stop.

Viral infections causeViral Hemorrhagic Fevers / Johns Hopkins Medicine various pathogens such as arenaviruses (Arenaviridae), bunyaviruses (Bunyaviridae), filoviruses (Filoviridae) and flaviviruses (Flaviviridae). Their genes are stored in the form of ribonucleic acid. Unlike more stable DNA, this structure is easier is changingWhat are VHFs? / CDC, and therefore microorganisms mutate more often. Therefore, RNA viruses are the main cause of the development of new diseases in humans.

The pathogens that cause hemorrhagic fevers do not survive well in the external environment, so they need hosts - ticks, mosquitoes or rodents.

Why are hemorrhagic fevers dangerous?

Usually, bleeding from small vessels does not pose a threat to life in itself. But you can lose a lot of blood if it starts to flow profusely from the nose, mouth and intestines or into the internal organs.

Also due to the body's inflammatory response to viruses may comeViral Hemorrhagic Fevers / Johns Hopkins Medicine septic shock is when pressure drops and the body does not have the strength to distill the blood. Because of this, the organs lack it, they cannot do their job, multiple organ failure will occur. Then there is a high probability that the person will die.

How are hemorrhagic fevers transmitted?

Some viral fevers transmittedViral hemorrhagic fevers / Mayo Clinic through the bites of mosquitoes or ticks, so their distribution is limited to the habitats of these animals. Others can become infected in any room where there are dried particles of mouse feces or urine. Enough, for example, to inhale the dust from the floor on which ran rodent vector. Some can be transmitted through contact with the blood, saliva or semen of humans or animals.

What are the common symptoms of hemorrhagic fevers

They may differ slightly in different diseases and in different people, but in general most often include 1. Viral hemorrhagic fevers / Mayo Clinic
2. Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers / Johns Hopkins Medicine:

• fever, that is, fever, chills;
• pain in the bones, joints and muscles;
• dizziness;
• fatigue, weakness, general malaise;
• nausea and vomiting;
• diarrhea.

For severe flow there areViral hemorrhagic fevers / Mayo Clinic:

• bleeding under the skin, into internal organs, or from the mouth, eyes, or ears;
• disorders of the nervous system;
• coma;
• rave;
• convulsions;
• kidney failure;
• respiratory disorders;
• liver failure.

Symptoms of a fever do not always appear immediately. Depending on the type of virus, it will take 2 to 21 days for symptoms to develop. So you run the risk of not even knowing that you have been infected until you return home from a trip.

What are hemorrhagic fevers

Scientists numberWhat are VHFs? / CDC a couple dozen different hemorrhagic fevers. Only eight are the most famous, and they are found only in certain regions - all because carriers live there. viruses:

• Lassa fever (Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, Liberia);
• Ebola (Central and West Africa);
• Marburg (Central and East Africa);
• dengue fever (Africa, Southeast Asia, North and South America);
• yellow fever (subtropics of Africa and South America);
• hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (ubiquitous);
• Crimean fever (Africa, south of Eastern Europe, Central Asia);
• Rift Valley (Africa).

What hemorrhagic fevers can you get in Russia

You can return from a trip with any fever, but in the country you can really catch only three.

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

In the European part of Russia and the Far East, get infectedClinical guidelines. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in adults / Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation hantaviruses, which cause fever with severe kidney damage up to and including kidney failure.

This fever is carried by field, forest and house mice, rats, and it is transmitted to humans through contact with rodent feces. For example, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome occurs in summer residents who arrive at the beginning of the season, begin to sweep the floor and inhale particles of mouse feces with viruses with dust.

You can get infected if the droppings get on damaged skin or mucous membranes. Also, particles of pathogens can be on products that are contaminated with rodents and have not been cooked. For example, on cabbage or carrots.

You cannot catch a fever from another person.

Crimea-Congo fever

In the steppes of southern Russia (Kalmykia, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Karachay-Cherkess and Kabardino-Balkarian republics, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories, Rostov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions) meetCrimean hemorrhagic fever caused by the Congo virus in adults. Clinical guidelines / Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation neuroviruses that cause Crimean Congo fever. Its symptoms resemble other hemorrhagic fevers.

Pathogens live in some types of ticks, can infect goats, cattle, hares, hedgehogs, other animals and humans. Therefore, tourists, villagers and agricultural workers who come into contact with infected animals are more likely to fall ill with this fever.

Omsk hemorrhagic fever

In the Omsk, Novosibirsk and Tyumen regions, it is extremely rare meets 1. N. AT. Rudakov, V. TO. Yastrebov, V. AT. Yakimenko. Epidemiology of Omsk hemorrhagic fever / Epidemiology and vaccination
2. Viral hemorrhagic fevers / WHO fever caused by flaviviruses. They are transmitted through the bites of some types of ticks, but can also live in goats, hares, and muskrats. At risk are those who work with farm or wild animals, and also often visit the forest. City dwellers should also be on their guard: ticks can crawl from dogs, but this happens very rarely.

No cases of human-to-human transmission have been identified.

Who is at risk

Anyone can get sick, but chances are aboveViral hemorrhagic fevers / Mayo Clinic:

• travelers;
• agricultural workers, such as slaughterhouses;
• lovers of raw meat;
• those who work or live where there are mice or rats;
• people who are doing unprotected sex;
• those sharing intravenous drug needles with someone else;
• contact with infected blood or other fluids.

How is hemorrhagic fever treated?

Hemorrhagic fevers require hospitalization. For them, there is no special treatment that would act on the pathogen. Except for some people with Lassa fever may I help 1. Viral hemorrhagic fevers / Mayo Clinic
2. Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers / Johns Hopkins Medicine antiviral therapy based on ribavirin, but nothing else.

Therefore, doctors usually only need to treat the symptoms. For example, infuse solutions through drips to avoid dehydration and shock, support breathing with oxygen or artificial ventilation, give pain medication, conduct dialysis with renal failure, that is, to purify the blood with the help of the apparatus.

How to protect yourself from hemorrhagic fever

For some fevers take root 1. Viral hemorrhagic fevers / Mayo Clinic
2. Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers / Johns Hopkins Medicine, in other cases, it remains only to avoid pathogens.

If you are traveling to a place where you can contract hemorrhagic fever

When you travel, be sure to find out what diseases are common in the country of destination and whether it is possible to protect yourself from them in advance.

• Get vaccinated against yellow fever, Argentine fever or Ebola depending on the region of travel.
• Wear long-sleeved, long-legged clothing that has been treated for ticks with permethrin.
• Use funds from insects.
• Install a bed net at night.
• Avoid contact with rodents and livestock in areas where outbreaks occur.

If you live or work where mice and other rodents can transmit hemorrhagic fevers

In order not to get infected from rodents, follow these precautions:

• Keep rodents out of the room where people live or work.
• Keep pet food in tightly sealed containers.
• Store trash in resealable buckets and wash them often.
• Throw out the trash regularly.
• Make sure there are no gaps in doors and windows.
• Keep a woodpile, stacks of boards and bricks at least 30 meters from the house.
• Make sure that within a radius of 30 meters around the house there is mowed grass and trimmed bushes.
• Remove mouse droppings only with gloves, a mask and goggles, do it with paper towels (so as not to raise dust with a broom or leave pathogens in the vacuum cleaner), throw away towels in a double package. After that, disinfect floors and surfaces with a mixture of water and bleach. Wash bed linen and other textiles in hot water, because there may also be particles of feces on it.