Ebola Virus Infection Discussion Paper
Ebola virus disease is a rare and deadly illness that primarily affects the populations that live in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The infection is transmitted through contact with an infected animal such as a fruit at or a non-human primate. It is regarded as an infectious disease since the virus can still remain in various areas of the body that are not immunologically privileged following an acute infection. In Guinea, the country faced the first Ebola virus epidemic between 14th February and 19th June 2021 after it was declared an Epidemic seven years earlier. The research experts of the article conducted a study on them and found out that the current genome formed a well-supported phylogenetic cluster with genomes from the previous outbreak (Keita et al..,2021). The resurgence of the Zaire ebolavirus prompted the healthcare workers to reinforce various long-term medical and social care for the patients who survived the disease to decrease the risk of reemergence and curb further stigmatization. Ebola Virus Infection Discussion Paper
The increased resurgence of the infection in nursing practice has resulted in increased mortality rates among the health care workers resulting in diminished quality of care services. The virus has also negatively affected the healthcare practice since many people have lost trust in the healthcare system since they believe that they can contact it when they go there, hence underutilizing the healthcare services. At the personal level, a healthcare worker caring for an individual with Ebola is more likely to experience various psychological effects due to the infection’s traumatic course, the fear of death, and the experience of witnessing other individuals dying. A combination of various factors, for instance, high population densities, closer contact with animals, and a severe shortage of healthcare workers, has resulted in the reemergence of the Ebola virus (Leigh et al.,2020). To prevent it from recurring, the nurse should encourage the patients to receive various preventative services, such as routine screening and preventive medications. Besides that, the nurse would administer intravenous hydration, manage diarrhea, and monitor the patient’s overall status. Ebola Virus Infection Discussion Paper
References
Keita, A. K., Koundouno, F. R., Faye, M., Düx, A., Hinzmann, J., Diallo, H., … & Magassouba, N. (2021). Resurgence of the Ebola virus in 2021 in Guinea suggests a new paradigm for outbreaks. Nature, 597(7877), 539-543.
Leigh, L., Taylor, C., Glassman, T., Thompson, A., & Sheu, J. J. (2020). A cross-sectional examination of the factors related to emergency nurses’ motivation to protect themselves against an Ebola infection. Journal of emergency nursing, 46(6), 814-826.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen.2020.05.002
As presented in this week’s readings, many individuals acquire infections in the community as well as during treatment in the hospital. As a nurse, it is important to know what is going on in the world. In addition to reading scholarly literature, reading the paper and watching the news helps to keep a nurse aware of what is going on currently. In addition, many organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) track current health trends and post updates on their websites, along with Fact Sheets to help educate, prevent, and treat new and re-emerging diseases. These Fact Sheets are made to be short and easy to read so that health care professionals and patients are more likely to read and understand the information. Ebola Virus Infection Discussion Paper
For this Discussion, you will examine an emerging or re-emerging disease and the nurse’s role in prevention and management of the disease. Locate an article in a newspaper, in a lay magazine, or on an organizational website that discusses an emerging or re-emerging infectious disease that is currently affecting your community. Reflect on the article you selected and think about how the emerging or re-emerging disease might affect nursing practice. Ebola Virus Infection Discussion Paper
Briefly summarize the article you selected and provide the reference. Then, address the following:
What implications does the disease have for nursing practice?
How does the emergence of this disease affect your personal practice?
Why do you think that this disease is emerging/re-emerging?
What is the nurse’s role in preventing and managing the impact of infectious diseases both from the patient and nurse perspective? Ebola Virus Infection Discussion Paper