Microbiology
A filovirus. Found in filo dough of the bat pot pie. Incubation is 2 t0 21 days.
Diagnosis
A hemorrhagic fever of Central Africa, with a pronounced bleeding diathesis.
Epidemiologic Risks
Usually taking care of someone with Ebola and contact with body fluids.
Bats and apes appear to be the source, so go easy on the bat pot pie when in Central Africa. Interestingly, it grows well in pigs and in the Philippines, there are seropositive pig farmers. Don't oink at this. Many an infection has jumped back and forth between pigs and humans. Remember swine flu?
Empiric Therapy
Supportive.
There are a variety of therapies that have been tried in outbreaks, we will see with the next outbreak.
Pearls
It can cause blindness and persist in semen for months.
Most patients have long term debilitating symptoms.
Not everyone exposed will get the disease, with 11% in endemic areas being seropositive (PubMed) and around a quarter will have minimal symptoms (PubMed).
Rants
Curious Cases
Relevant links to my Medscape blog
Last Update: 04/16/18.