The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared the end of the last and most recent epidemic of Ebola virus disease. The epidemic had been identified in the province of Bas-Uélé, within the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, now more than 40 days ago and only now did the last infected patient also test negative at the second determination carried out with the appropriate assay. .
Although it appeared in an area characterized by limited road traffic and without communication tools, the WHO operators sent to support were able to move quickly enough, so as to contain the potential spread of the infection in the surrounding areas.
Thanks to their prompt intervention, only four of the eight infected people died; the other four who had contracted the virus survived and are recovering. This is certainly a clear step forward from the previous epidemic recorded in West Africa between 2014 and 2016; in that case, the infection of over 28,000 individuals and the death of almost half of them had been recorded.
WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared himself satisfied with the work, highlighting how “with the conclusion of this epidemic, the Democratic Republic of Congo has once again demonstrated to the world our ability to control the lethal Ebola virus if we are able to respond quickly, in a coordinated and efficient manner “.
With the onset of the flu season, we are now used to fighting and living with flu symptoms. But in the past two years the challenge is much greater.
The flu and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory diseases, but they are caused by different viruses. As we learn more and more about COVID-19 and the virus that causes it every day, there are still aspects, such as post-COVID conditions, that are currently under study. Colds have more marked differences in symptoms and general characteristics than flu and COVID-19, so we focus on the differences and similarities of the latter two.
Since some of the symptoms of the flu, COVID-19, and other respiratory diseases are similar, the difference between them cannot be made based on the symptoms alone. The specific test is in fact necessary to confirm a diagnosis.
However, people can be infected with both the flu and SARS-CoV-2 at the same time and have symptoms of both. are some key differences between the two.Covid-19 and Influenza: similarities and differencesWhat is the cause?
COVID-19: caused by the 2019 coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2.
Influenza: caused by the flu virus. There are two main types of influenza viruses called influenza A and influenza B. Different strains of influenza A and influenza B emerge and circulate every year.
Similarities
For both COVID-19 and the flu, it can take 1 or more days between when a person becomes infected and when they start experiencing symptoms of the disease.
DifferencesA person infected with SARS-CoV-2 may take longer to develop symptoms than a person with the flu.In influenza, a person generally develops symptoms 1 to 4 days after infection.
In COVID-19, a person typically develops symptoms 5 days after infection, although evidence has shown that they can appear as early as 2 days after infection or up to 14 days after infection, and the time frame can vary.