Italy's first Ebola patient is now in a stable condition and being treated in Rome after arriving from Sierra Leone last Tuesday. He was part of the volunteers taking care of people infected with the disease. The 50-year old Sicilian doctor, who is unnamed, is part of the Italian Humanitarian Emergency which served one of the most affected countries in West Africa. Sierra Leone has the most number of casualties and as time passes by, the infection gets worse there.
The doctor will be administered with the same experimental drug given to infected health care providers in the United States and Europe. According to Dr. Emanuele Nicastri, the patient has fever but is still conscious and alert. He can walk and is collaborative. Upon admission the patient remained stable.
He said that the patient experienced the tell-tale symptoms of Ebola of vomiting and diarrhea on Thursday and fever on Sunday. However, the drug was not yet officially approved in Italy but was used in other countries following the protocol of the World Health Organization. The family of the patient was reassured of his condition. Italian media said the patient had called his two daughters to reassure them about his condition.
Ebola Virus Disease is a deadly disease with only 50% survival rate. It started in West Africa last March and through its eight months of existence; it infected more than 15,000 people and killed more than 5,000 in West Africa.
The World Health Organization and other health agencies are working hand in hand in determining the treatment for the fatal virus. Vaccines are still unavailable and health officials project it to be done by mid-2015. Meanwhile, supportive care and intensive hydration are being done to fight the viral disease. Drinking lots of water is needed to recover from the disease. Water therapy is being done to infected people to prevent dehydration at the acute phase of vomiting and diarrhea.
