Ebola Virus Nightmare Continues, Survivors Struggle With Long-Term Health Effects

The Ebola virus has hunted the world for 17 months with more than 28,600 infected people and 11,300 deaths recorded. Though the outbreak has officially ended, its nightmare still continues as survivors face a range of long-term health effects because of it, according to a new research which was conducted with the survivors in West Africa.

"While an end to the outbreak has been declared, these survivors are still struggling with long-term problems," said Dr. Lauren Bowen of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) who was also one of the authors of the study.

According to the research, survivors' common problems include depression, memory loss, weakness, headaches and muscle pain while common neurological findings include reflexes, eye movements and tremors. It has also been reported that among them, two were suicidal and one survivor has been experiencing hallucinations.  

"It is important for us to know how this virus may continue to affect the brain long term," Dr. Bowen said. As reported by RT, the details of the study are scheduled to be discussed further during the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting which will be held in Canada in the second quarter of April this year.

Ten percent of the survivors also had this eye disorder called uveitis which experts are afraid of its causing blindness eventually. Dr. Bowen said the complication can be treated, yet if the Ebola survivors will not be followed up, there would be a greater danger that these people will eventually lose their sight as stated in the Africa News.

Meanwhile, Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey has been recently admitted to a London hospital for the third time since she first contracted Ebola while volunteering during the outbreak. "She's had quite a difficult course of surviving Ebola," a doctor at the Royal Free Hospital said.