Ebola Virus

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Ebola is infamous as the cause of the 2014 epidemic in West Africa that killed over 11,000 people. Ebola is only one of thirty known viruses that cause a hemorrhagic fever syndrome. In the four decades since the virus was first identified, the death rate in the various outbreaks has been up to 80%. A mortality rate this high is terrifying.

Another terrifying illness I had to face as a new child kidney specialist in Calgary was Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). This illness had a reported mortality rate of 50% in epidemics in Europe and Argentina. I only saw one child with HUS during my entire fellowship in Toronto and then saw four in my first year in Calgary! Turns out Calgary is an endemic region for HUS. Over the next decade I was in charge of the care of over a hundred children with HUS. This nasty disease was a big part of my life. I was the only paediatric kidney specialist in Calgary and always on call. I lived and breathed HUS - 24/7. I studied the disease carefully and over the next fifteen years I became an authority and published several dozen articles on the problem. Although there is no cure, I learned that excellent supportive care saved children. After fifteen-years of experience I published our results on 120 children. We had a wonderful team of nurses and ancillary staff. The mortality rate was only 3%. We proved that modern care with excellent supportive therapy saves lives.

There is much about Ebola that reminds me of HUS. Both were originally a mysterious hemorrhagic illness with a high mortality rate. Both cause endothelial damage with multiple organ failure. Neither has a cure. I have too much experience not be concerned about Ebola virus, but I know how to offer great supportive therapy and I believe survival will improve with study, practice, and time, just like we proved with HUS. 



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