The Ebola outbreak has taken more than 5,000 lives in West Africa and infected more than 14,000 individuals in just eight months. During the outbreak crisis, many organizations are clamoring to produce the first cure for the disease. However, an expert from the World Health Organization says that the key to surviving the fatal disease is as simple as drinking water. Dr. Simon Mardel, a veteran relief physician who is consulting on the crisis in West Africa says hydration is most effective way to fight the deadly disease until more extensive and potent treatment options like medicines and vaccines are still in progress.
However, according to Dr. Mardel, it is a very daunting task to keep patients hydrated especially when they experience tremendous bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. Often, they are not willing to drink water. Furthermore, lack of water supply is one of the problems West Africa has.
This is also featured by a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, as scientists say that aggressive hydration methods are the what helped survivors of Ebola to surpass the deadly illness. According to the study, hydration of three to five liters of intravenous fluids each day and electrolyte correction helped patients fight the disease and there is noted decrease in the virus levels in their blood. Also, drinking four liters or one gallon of water a day is helpful too. Furthermore, rehydration solutions like those containing essential electrolytes are a big help to prevent dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea.
In the said study, hydration is the key for the survival of the two infected health workers at the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. As for viral diseases which cause bouts of extreme vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration is the seen culprit for many deaths. The hard part of this is, these patients are too weak to drink fluids, and most of them don't want to drink at all. Aggressive intravenous hydration should be established for patients with Ebola.
The predicament in West Africa is, the viral disease has spread so fast and the death toll reached thousands because in far flung areas, there are no health care facilities and systems to properly diagnose patients and establish intravenous lines to combat viral effects like vomiting and diarrhea.