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| Ebola survivors |
Following the recovery and discharge
of the first Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) patient from the isolation centre at the
Mainland Hospital in Lagos, facts have emerged as to how the patients are
recovering.
Meanwhile, more patients undergoing medical treatment at the centre
may be discharged this week, investigations revealed.Experts, who commented on
the development, said although 60-90 per cent of people infected with the Ebola
virus die, some people do recover from infection.“Doctors don’t know for
certain who will survive Ebola, and there is no specific treatment or cure for
the disease. But studies suggest there are some biological markers linked with
a higher chance of surviving Ebola,” the experts say.
In the view of Derek Gatherer, a
Bioinformatics researcher at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, who
studies viral genetics and evolution, “when a person becomes infected with
Ebola, the virus depletes the body’s immune cells, which defend against
infection.“In particular, the Ebola virus depletes immune cells called CD4 and
CD8 T lymphocytes, which are crucial to the function of the immune system”,
Gatherer noted, arguing that “if a person’s immune system can stand up to this
initial attack — meaning their immune cells are not as depleted in the first
stages of infection — then they are more likely to survive the disease.“The
patients that survive it best are the ones who don’t get such a bad immune
deficiency. But if the body is not able to fend off this attack, then the
immune system becomes less able to regulate itself”, Gatherer
said.Markers.Another marker linked with people’s ability to survive Ebola is a
gene called human leukocyte antigen-B, which makes a protein that is important
in the immune system. A 2007 study found that people with certain versions of this
gene, called B*07 and B*14, were more likely to survive Ebola, while people
with other versions, called B*67 and B*15, were more likely to die.Some people
may be resistant to Ebola infection entirely, if they have a mutation in a gene
called NPC1. Studies show that, when researchers take cells from people with
the NPC1 mutation and try to infect them with Ebola in a laboratory dish, these
cells are resistant to the virus.Gatherer said in European populations, about 1
in 300 to 1 in 400 people has this mutation.“But in some populations, this
mutation is more common: in Nova Scotia, between 10 and 26 per cent of people
have this mutation. But the frequency of this mutation in African populations
is not known,” he said.Also giving an insight, Lagos state Governor Babatunde
Fashola remarked: “This is a virus that will run a maximum of 21 days. What we
must do is people who show some signs of illness should come in very early so
that we can continue to hydrate them, give electrolyte balance so that their
nervous system do not go into shock and wherever it is necessary to provide
antibiotics for patients; and their body can fight the virus which in the event
last no longer than 21 days.”
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