Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)
Formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola fever), Marburg
Hemorrhagic Fever and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
Overview
Ebola Virus Disease is the name of a rare group of viral infections, including Ebola, Marburg, and the Crimean-Congo viruses, that cause similar symptoms and pathology. The first known case of the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever was among Russian soldiers serving in Crimea, Ukraine, in 1944 and subsequently among villagers living the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1956. Not until 1969 were scientists able to isolate the single virus common to both.
Ebola virus first emerged in two major disease outbreaks, which occurred almost simultaneously in Zaire and Sudan, Africa, in 1976. Over 500 cases were reported, with mortality rates of 88% in Zaire and 53% in Sudan. The Uganda outbreak of August 2000 to Jan 2001, affected 425 individuals and killed 223 (53%).
Marburg virus was first recognized in laboratory workers in Marburg, Germany, and Belgrade, Yugoslavia, simultaneously in 1967. These workers had been exposed to tissues and blood from African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops ) imported from Uganda. There were 25 primary cases and six secondary cases in the outbreak. Seven of the primary cases died. Since then, sporadic, virologically confirmed Marburg disease cases have occurred in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Kenya
All of the Hemorrhagic Fevers cause severe bleeding and a high fever and are often fatal. The incubation period is typically 5-10 days, but may be 2-21 days long, at which time the patient develops fever, fatigue, malaise, headache, backache, vomiting, and diarrhea. Within a week, a raised (papular) rash appears over most of the entire body; the rash is often hemorrhagic (containing blood). The disease affects the capillaries in the body and causes excessive bleeding through the eyes, nose, mouth and gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms become increasingly severe and may include jaundice, inflammation of the pancreas, severe weight loss, delirium, shock, liver failure, massive hemorrhaging, and multi-organ dysfunction. Mortality is high, reaching 90%.
Biological Weapons Use
As early as 1990, Ebola virus had been made into an aerosolized powder by the former Soviet Union Biopreparat (Biological Preparations Lab) that could be deployed as a biological weapon. It is believed that several nations now possess powdered biological weapons or have the capability to manufacture them, including Russia, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, China, and North Korea. It is not known whether the outbreak of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Afghanistan was due to natural transmission or possibly due to a terrorist laboratory or manufacturing accident.
How Hazardous is the Ebola Virus?
In his Ebola article from 2010, C. Berry-Caban, explains, “The United States Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) located at Fort Detrick, Maryland, was established in 1969, with the mission of developing medical defenses against biological warfare threats. USAMRIID is the only laboratory within the Department of Defense capable of studying highly hazardous viruses that require maximum containment at Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4). A biosafety level is the level of the containment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed facility. The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 to the highest at level 4. Filoviruses, like Ebola Virus, are classified as Biological Level 4 agents based on their person-to-person, high mortality rate, transmission, potential for aerosol infectivity and absence of vaccines and chemotherapy.
At 10,000 square feet, the USAMRIID BSL-4 facility is the largest biological containment laboratory in the US. When dealing with biological hazards at this level, the use of a Hazmat suit and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of the laboratory contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an ultraviolet light room and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of biohazards. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent both doors opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory undergo decontamination procedures.” (C Berry-Cabán. Reston’s Hot Zone ─ 20 Years Later. The Internet Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2010 Volume 2 Number 1)
2014 Ebola West Africa Outbreak
The 2014 Ebola Outbreak has now been confirmed to be caused by a strain of ebolavirus with very close homology (98%) to the Zaire ebolavirus. This is the first time the disease has been detected in West Africa.
The Ministry of Health of Guinea notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of a rapidly evolving outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in forested areas of south-eastern Guinea. As of 22 March 2014, a total of 49 cases including 29 deaths (case fatality ratio: 59%) had been reported.
Cases were first reported from forested areas in south-eastern Guinea. The outbreak has rapidly evolved and several districts and Conakry have reported cases and deaths caused by EVD. A small number of suspected cases and deaths has also been reported from neighboring countries with all of them having crossed from Guinea. Confirmed cases have been reported from Guinea and Liberia. (click here for the Latest information on suspected and confirmed cases and deaths)
2014 Ebola Incidence Rates
As of 14 October 2014 there had been 8914 cases of Ebola disease, including 4447 deaths (Case Fatality Rate: 49.8%) and the numbers are expected to continue to rise over the next few months. For the past three to four weeks the number of cases has been increasing steadily by about 1000 each week. The World Health Organization believes that the incidence will continue to rise to 10,000 cases per week over the next 6 weeks but hopes we will then see the beginning of a decline.
Totals for Guinea, Liberia & Sierra Leone: 7470; Deaths: 3431; Lab Confirmed Cases: 4087; Case Fatality Ratio: 46%
Total for Nigeria: 20; Deaths: 8; Lab Confirmed Cases: 19; Case Fatality Rate: 40%
Total for Senegal: 1; Deaths 0; Lab Confirmed Cases: 1
Total for the US: 1; Deaths 1; Lab Confirmed Cases: 1
2014 Ebola Outbreak in the US
On 30 September 2014, the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) was informed of the first confirmed imported case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the United States.
The index case, Thomas Duncan, is an adult male who came the US from Liberia, where he had been helping patients there who were infected with Ebola. He developed symptoms compatible with Ebola on 24 September 2014, approximately 4 days after arriving in the United States on 20 September 2014. The patient did not have symptoms when leaving West Africa. He sought medical care on 26 September 2014 and was admitted into isolation on 28 September 2014 at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.
Samples were sent for testing to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia and at the Texas state laboratory. Results were positive for Ebola virus.
Mr. Duncan was started on the experimental anti-viral drug brincidofovir on 4 October 2014. On Tuesday, 7 October 2014, the hospital reported that the man was on a ventilator and his kidneys were failing. He died on Wednesday, 8 October 2014, at 7:51 a.m., 14 days after first exhibiting Ebola symptoms.
On October 10, Nina Pham, a healthcare worker at Texas Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the index patient reported a low-grade fever and was referred for testing. The healthcare worker tested positive for Ebola according to the CDC. The healthcare worker was flown to Emory University Hospital, one of only four U.S. hospitals with specialized isolation units to care for Ebola with less risk of spreading to health care workers.
On the morning of October 14, Amber Vinson, a second healthcare worker at Texas Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the index patient reported to the hospital with a low-grade fever and was isolated. The healthcare worker tested positive for Ebola according to preliminary tests.
Medical records provided to The Associated Press by the family of the first person to die of Ebola on U.S. soil, Thomas Eric Duncan, show Vinson inserted catheters, drew blood, and dealt with Duncan’s body fluids before he died last week.
New patients also are beginning to receive blood transfusions from Ebola survivors, in the hopes that antibodies formed during the survivor’s illness will attack the virus raging in the recipient.
Blood Transfusions given to some Ebola Patients from Ebola Survivors
Dallas nurse Nina Pham, who contracted the virus while caring for the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, has received a transfusion of plasma from Dr. Kent Brantly. A medical missionary, Brantly survived after contracting Ebola in Liberia while volunteering as an aid worker there. Brantly’s blood also has been donated to at least one other Ebola patient, Dr. Rick Sacra, a fellow medical missionary who survived the disease as well.
The transfusion of Brantly’s blood plasma into Pham “is a significantly better tool for fighting this virus than offering supportive care alone,” said Stefan Juretschko, director of infectious diseases diagnostics at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y.
“His plasma — the clear part of blood, centrifuged to separate it from red blood cells — is plentiful with antibodies accumulated during his own fight against Ebola several months ago. The amount of antibodies from Brantly serve as weapons to the virus and is far superior to the yet to be formed antibodies of the Texas nurse herself as she fights the disease,” Juretschko added.
Blood transfusions from Ebola survivors aren’t new, Tosh said. Doctors have been using them since the first outbreak of Ebola in Africa back in 1976.
“They transfused blood from a survivor to a laboratory worker who had been infected, and it worked. The patient survived,” he said. “It’s been done a number of times since.”
Infection and transmission
In Africa, fruit bats are believed to be the natural hosts of Ebola virus. The virus is transmitted from wildlife to people through contact with infected fruit bats, or through intermediate hosts, such as monkeys, apes, or pigs that have themselves become infected through contact with bat saliva or feces.
People may then become infected through contact with infected animals, either in the process of slaughtering or through consumption of blood, milk, or raw or undercooked meat.
The virus is then passed from person to person through direct contact with the blood, secretions or other bodily fluids of infected persons, or from contact with contaminated needles or other equipment in the environment.
What we know about transmission of the Ebola virus among humans
The Ebola virus is transmitted among humans through close and direct physical contact with infected bodily fluids, the most infectious being blood, faeces and vomit. The Ebola virus has also been detected in breast milk, urine and semen. In a convalescent male, the virus can persist in semen for at least 70 days; one study suggests persistence for more than 90 days. Saliva and tears may also carry some risk. However, the studies implicating these additional bodily fluids were extremely limited in sample size and the science is inconclusive. In studies of saliva, the virus was found most frequently in patients at a severe stage of illness. The whole live virus has never been isolated from sweat.
The Ebola virus can also be transmitted indirectly, by contact with previously contaminated surfaces and objects. The risk of transmission from these surfaces is low and can be reduced even further by appropriate cleaning and disinfection procedures.
Not an airborne virus or is it?
Ebola virus disease is not an airborne infection, at least not beyond about 3 ft, usually. Airborne spread among humans implies inhalation of an infectious dose of virus from a suspended cloud of small dried droplets. This mode of transmission has not been observed during extensive studies of the Ebola virus over several decades.
Common sense and observation tell us that spread of the virus via coughing or sneezing although rare, can occur at close proximity, meaning within 3 ft. Epidemiological data emerging from the outbreak are not consistent with the pattern of spread seen with typical airborne viruses, like those that cause measles, smallpox or chickenpox, or the airborne bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
Theoretically, bigger, wet droplets from a heavily infected individual, who has respiratory symptoms caused by other conditions or who vomits violently, could transmit the virus – over a short distance – to another nearby person. This could happen when virus-laden heavy droplets are directly propelled, by coughing or sneezing (which does not mean airborne transmission) onto the mucus membranes or skin with cuts or abrasions of another person.
WHO is not aware of any studies that actually document this mode of transmission. On the contrary, good quality studies from previous Ebola outbreaks show that all cases were infected by direct close contact with symptomatic patients.
Signs and symptoms
EVD, which has a case fatality rate of up to 90%, is a severe acute viral illness often characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache, nausea and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings frequently include low white blood cell and platelet counts and elevated liver enzymes.
The incubation period, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is 2 to 21 days. People remain infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus, a period that has been reported to be as long as 61 days after onset of illness.
Diagnosis and treatment
When considering the diagnosis of EVD, other, more common diseases should not be overlooked; for example, malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, cholera, leptospirosis, plague, rickettsiosis, relapsing fever, meningitis, hepatitis and other viral haemorrhagic fevers.
Definitive diagnosis of EVD is made through laboratory testing. Because samples from patients are a source of infection risk for others, testing is conducted under maximum biological containment conditions.
Ebola’s Masking Technique Revealed
A new, molecular view of the Ebola virus could hold the key to countering this severe and often fatal disease. NIAID-supported researchers have determined the structure of a critical part of Ebola’s VP35 protein, which interferes with the natural immune response to infection. (Source: National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease)
Typically, when a virus infects cells, the human immune system responds to the virus’ RNA and mounts a defense. A protein on the surface of the Ebola virus, called VP35, masks the viruses’ RNA, and inhibits the human immune system from attacking the virus.
Organism
Genus Ebolavirus is one of three members of the Filoviridae family (filovirus), along with genus Marburgvirus and genus Cuevavirus. Genus Ebolavirus comprises five distinct species: Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV); Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV); Reston ebolavirus (RESTV); Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV); and Taï Forest ebolavirus (TAFV). BDBV, EBOV, and SUDV have been associated with large EVD outbreaks in Africa, whereas RESTV and TAFV have not. Samples taken from patients in the 2014 outbreak have tested positive for EBOV.
Toxicity
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever causes a horrifying terrible death. In 1988, a Russian scientist named Nikolai Ustinov, working at the Russian Biopreparat facility called Vector, accidentally pricked himself in the finger with a syringe that contained the Marburg virus. On about the fourth day, Ustinov developed a headache, and his eyes turned red. Tiny hemorrhages were occurring in them. He requested a laboratory notebook, and he began writing a diary in it, every day. He was a scientist, and he was determined to explain how he was dying. For a while, he maintained a small hope that he wouldn’t die, but when his skin developed spontaneous bruises he understood what the future held. When Ustinov began to vomit blood and pass bloody black diarrhea, the doctor gave him transfusions, but as they put the blood into him it came out of his mouth and rectum. The final pages of Dr. Nikolai Ustinov’s scientific journal are smeared with unclotted blood. His skin developed star like hemorrhages in the under layers. Incredibly — the Vector scientists had never seen this — he sweated blood directly from the pores of his skin, and left bloody fingerprints on the pages of his diary.
An autopsy was performed in the spacesuit morgue of the biocontainment hospital. If this was indeed the Popp strain of Marburg virus and it was incredibly lethal. It produced effects in the human body that were stunning, terrifying. A pathology team removed Ustinov’s liver and his spleen. They sucked a quantity of his destroyed blood out of a leg vein using large syringes. They froze the blood and the body parts. They kept the Ustinov strain alive and continually replicating in the laboratories at Vector. They named the strain Variant U, after Ustinov, and they learned how to mass-produce it in simple bioreactors, flasks used for growing viruses. They dried Variant U, and processed it into an inhalable dust. The particles of Variant U were coated to protect them in the air so that they would drift for many miles.
In late 1990, Biopreparat researchers tested airborne Variant U on monkeys and other small animals in special explosion-test chambers at the Stepnagorsk plant. Marburg Variant U proved to be extremely potent in airborne form. They found that just one to five microscopic particles of Variant U lodged in the lungs of a monkey were almost guaranteed to make the animal crash, bleed, and die. With normal weapons-grade anthrax, in comparison, it takes about eight thousand spores lodged in the lungs to pretty much guarantee infection and death.
Contagiousness
Initial infection can arise from contact with infected animals. Humans to human transmission of the virus can occur by direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. This is why the virus has often been spread through the families and friends of infected persons: in the course of feeding, holding, or otherwise caring for them, family members and friends would come into close contact with such secretions. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
Incubation
The typical incubation period appears to be 10-15 days, but can be anywhere from 2-21 days. While the 21 day quarantine value currently used may have arisen from reasonable interpretation of early outbreak data, a new Drexel study published in the journal PLOS One, published 14 October 2014 found that 12% of the infected my have a longer incubation time, up to 30-40 days after exposure until the onset of symptoms.
Symptoms
Early:
Late:
- conjunctivitis (eye inflammation)
- generalized rash, hemorrhagic
- roof of mouth looks red
- genital swelling (labia and scrotum)
- depression
- increased sense of pain in skin
- gastrointestinal bleeding ( from mouth and rectum)
- bleeding from eyes, ears, and nose
- blood that does not clot
Signs
There may be signs and symptoms of:
Tests used in the diagnosis of Ebola fever include:
- coagulation studies (tests of how well the blood will clot)
- serologic studies to demonstrate the Ebola virus
- CBC demonstrates low white blood cell count (leukopenia) and low platelet count (thrombocytopenia)
- electrolytes
Complications
Survivors may have unusual problems such as hair loss and sensory changes.
Prognosis
Prognosis is poor. There is a high fatality rate for this disorder (30% for Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever to 90% for Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever). The 2014 Outbreak has a Case Fatality Rate of 49%. Patients usually die from low blood pressure (shock) rather than from blood loss.
Preventive Measures
The key to prevention is a healthy immune system. Since it is known that 10-75% of the population recovers from Ebola Virus / Hemorrhagic Fever even if untreated, a healthy immune response is your best defense. To make certain that you keep your immune system at its peak, Dr. Hansen recommends the following:
- Take the Oral Homeopathic Vaccine: Influenzinum 9C (This homeopathic medicine is a broad spectrum vaccine that boosts immune responsiveness against flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, muscle pains, malaise, etc, which can be confused with the initial symptoms of Ebola)
- Take a high potency multi-vitamin (Dr. Hansen recommends Peak Advantage)
- Avoid processed sugar (100 grams of Sugar suppresses the immune system by 50% for 5 hours)
- Get a minimum of 7 ½ hours of sleep per night.
- Vitamins A, D and K (see OTC Treatments listed below)
- Phytobiotic Anti-Viral formula (Herbal Combination of Elderberry, Echinacea, Andrographis, Goldenseal, Astragalus) See Description below
- If you develop flu symptoms take Flu Solution (this is a very effective homeopathic medicine for the initial phase of fever, headache, muscle aches, general malaise, etc.) and Phytobiotic 3 capsules 3 times daily.
- If Ebola Virus Disease is found in the U.S., Dr. Hansen recommends taking Homeopathic Biological Defense H: 1 tablet once per week for 4 weeks as a precaution.
- For an exposure to Hemorrhagic Fever without symptoms: Take Homeopathic Biological Defense H: 1tablet once daily for 21 days.
- For active Ebola Virus Disease symptoms take Homeopathic Biological Defense H: 1 tablet every 4 hours, 4 times daily.
Treatment
There is no known cure for this disorder at this time. There are no drugs to treat viral hemorrhagic fever, and treatment currently consists of preventing shock and providing supportive care. The patient should be hospitalized and will likely need intensive care. Supportive measures for shock will be used (including medications and intravenous fluids). There should be an attempt to correct bleeding abnormalities, often including transfusions of platelets and/or fresh blood. Medical care is complicated by the need to protect medical and nursing personnel. Convalescence is slow, often taking five weeks or more, and is marked by weight loss and amnesia in the early stages of recovery.
Dr. Hansen’s Rx
1. Vitamins A, D and K (see OTC Treatments listed below)
2. Phytobiotic Anti-Viral formula (Herbal Combination of Elderberry, Echinacea, Andrographis, Goldenseal, Astragalus) See Description below
3. If you develop flu symptoms take Flu Solution (this is a very effective homeopathic medicine for the initial phase of fever, headache, muscle aches, general malaise, etc.)
3. If Ebola Virus Disease is found in the U.S., Dr. Hansen recommends taking Homeopathic Biological Defense H: 1 tablet once per week for 4 weeks as a precaution.
4. For an exposure to Hemorrhagic Fever without symptoms: Take Homeopathic Biological Defense H: 1tablet once daily for 21 days.
5. For active Ebola Virus Disease symptoms take Homeopathic Biological Defense H: 1 tablet every 4 hours, 4 times daily.Broad Spectrum Antiviral in Development
For Details of Dr. Hansen’s Rx see below
Vitamin A
The most effective treatment for preventing the most serious consequences of the viral infection Measles is the supplementation of Vitamin A. This may provide significant benefits in Ebola patients as well. Although the CDC and Public Health Officials never seem to mention this simple remedy, it has been shown to reduce the death rate due to Measles by 67-82%.
Using two doses of Vitamin A (200,000 IU) on consecutive days has been shown to be associated with an 82% reduction in the risk of mortality (RR 0.18; 95% CI 0.03 to 0.61) and a 67% reduction in the risk of pneumonia-specific mortality (RR 0.33; 95% CI 0.08 to 0.92).
Vitamin A is a necessary substrate for preserving epithelial cell integrity and in addition plays a major role in immune enhancement. Epithelial cells are the cells that line the skin, the blood vessels and the lungs. Measles attacks the epithelium of the lungs, whereas Ebola attacks the epithelium of the blood vessels, mucous membranes and the skin.
Source:Vitamin A for treating measles in children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005 Oct19;(4):CD001479. American Academy of Pediatrics
Vitamin A Dose:
Vitamin A should be administered once a day for 2 days at the following doses:
• 50,000 IU for infants aged <6 months
• 100,000 IU for infants aged 6–11 months
• 200,000 IU for children aged 1 year or older and all adults
An additional (third) age-specific dose of vitamin A should be given 2–4 weeks later to children with clinical signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency. Parenteral and oral formulations of vitamin A are available in the United States. (Source: CDC, updated 12/13/13)
Vitamin D Boosts Immune Function and Suppresses Inflammation
When Vitamin D is lacking, we become a prime target for serious viral infections including the flu and possibly Ebola. Individuals with sufficient levels of Vitamin D are able to fight off attacking viral pathogens. Vitamin D boosts the innate immune response in many ways, but in particular by turning on an antimicrobial protein.
Vitamin D also balances the immune response, preventing inflammation that can lead to significant viral-related complications such as bacterial pneumonia or lung infection. Inflammation was the leading cause of deaths in the 1918 influenza pandemic that infected 500 million and killed 50 million worldwide.
Viruses, including Ebola, induce a massive inflammatory response that can kill the victim. In other words, it is not the virus that often kills, but the body’s hyper-reaction to the virus—in the form of uncontrolled over-production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Vitamin D down-regulates the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha.[39]
As people age, they often over-express these same destructive pro-inflammatory cytokines. The result is chronic low-level inflammation that damages aging arteries, joints, and neurons [40-44]. By down-regulating excess pro-inflammatory cytokine production, vitamin D could prevent the overwhelming inflammatory response of patients infected with Ebola, as it appears to also do acute influenza and other inflammatory diseases.
Antimicrobial peptides are also components of the immune system that protect against bacterial, fungal and viral infections. Secreted by immune cells throughout the body, antimicrobial peptides damage the outer lipid membrane of infectious agents (including viruses), rending them vulnerable to eradication.
Recent studies confirm that vitamin D dramatically up-regulates the expression of these antimicrobial peptides in immune cells [45]. We now have a definitive biological mechanism to explain why vitamin D confers such dramatic protection against common winter illnesses.
Vtamin D Dose:
Adults: 5,000 IU once daily; Children 1-2 years old: 1000 IU once daily; Children 3-12 years old: 2000 IU once daily. Adolescents: 13-17: 5,000 IU once daily.
Testing Your Vitamin D Blood Levels
When blood is tested to assess Vitamin D status, what is actually measured is the metabolically active 25-hydroxyvitamin D form of the vitamin in the serum. This form is known as Vitamin D3.
When data emerged about vitamin D’s role in preventing disease, experts initially recommended a minimum target blood level of 30 ng/mL of 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
In recognition of findings showing reduced incidences of disease in those with higher vitamin D levels, the standard laboratory reference range for 25-hydroxyvitamin D was raised to 32-100 ng/mL.
Based on recent and conclusive published studies, the new minimum target level for optimal disease prevention is over 50 ng/mL of Vitamin D3.[46-51]
A startling 36% [52-55,56] of the general population has 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels below 20 ng/dL, which may represent the world’s leading cause of unnecessary disease and death.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is a vitamin found in leafy green vegetables, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. The name vitamin K comes from the German word “Koagulationsvitamin.”
Several forms of vitamin K are used around the world as medicine. Vitamin K1 (phytonadione) and vitamin K2 (menaquinone) are available in North America. Vitamin K1 is generally the preferred form of vitamin K because it is less toxic, works faster, is stronger, and works better for certain conditions.
In the body, vitamin K plays a major role in blood clotting. So it is used to reverse the effects of “blood thinning” medications when too much is given; to prevent clotting problems in newborns who don’t have enough vitamin K; and to treat bleeding caused by medications including salicylates, sulfonamides, quinine, quinidine, or antibiotics. After surgery, vitamin K has been used to speed up skin healing and reduce bruising and swelling.
An increased understanding of the role of vitamin K in the body beyond blood clotting led some researchers to suggest that the recommended amounts for dietary intake of vitamin K be increased. In 2001, the National Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board increased their recommended amounts of vitamin K slightly, but refused to make larger increases. They explained there wasn’t enough scientific evidence to make larger increases in the recommended amount of vitamin K.
Vitamin K Dose – Vitamin K1 (Phytonadione):
Adults: 6 mg (3 drops) once daily; Newborn 2 yrs old: 2mg (1 drop) once daily; Children 3-17yrs old: 4mg (2 drops) once daily.
PhytoBiotic Herbal Anti-Viral Formula
Phytobiotic is a broad spectrum herbal anti-viral formula that is exceptionally effective. It contains a standardized extract of Elderberry (Sambucus nigra), Elderberry disarms viruses by binding to them and preventing them from getting into the body. Flavonoids found in the berries are thought to coat the virus and inhibit the action of an enzyme called neuraminidase that otherwise would break down the cell wall membrane and allow the virus to spread. Elderberry also enhances immunity by increasing the production of special white blood cells that fight viruses and acts as a potent antioxidant.
Phytobiotic also contains Echinacea, a Native-American remedy for snake bite, has been shown to be effective against snake venom and to possess antiviral activity against several viruses including influenza and may prove to be effective against Ebola Virus. Echinacea contains polysaccharides that inhibit the enzyme Hyaluronidase, is found in snake venom and is secreted by viruses to break down the ground substance that holds body cells together, leading to the breakdown of the epithelial tissue in the skin and blood vessels causing bleeding. Ebola Virus causes tissue breakdown and bleeding just like snake venom does.
Several species of Echinacea are native to regions of North America — Echinacea angustifolia is the most notable species for sepsis and snakebites, but Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea pallida also are effective. Many people think Echinacea is ineffective due to underdosage. For Echinacea to be effective, dosage needs to be fairly high and frequent, more than people who take synthetic over-the-counter 12-hour remedies are used to.
PhytoBiotic Dose:
Adults: Take 2 Capsules twice daily for Prevention; Children: Take 1 Capsule once daily for Prevention; For Exposure and Active Symptoms: Adults, Take 3 Capsules every 3 hrs, 5 times daily; Children: Take 2 Capsules 5 times daily.
Homeopathic Biological Defense H (Hemorrhagic Fever)
Homeopathic medicines are natural, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs that work via amplification of the body’s own healing response. Homeopathic medicines have been used to treat the symptoms of Hemorrhagic diseases for more than 100 years.
In October 2001, after biological weapons grade Anthrax powder killed several individuals in the U.S., Dr. Hansen researched and developed 6 Homeopathic Biological Weapons Antidotes, including one for Ebola / Hemorrhagic Fever, which is called Homeopathic Biological Defense H (Hemorrhagic Fever).
Homeopathic Biological Defense H Indications
This homeopathic formulation devised by Dr. Clark Hansen, NMD, combines three homeopathic medicines into one formula to provide the synergistic and overlapping benefits of all three to stimulate the body’s inherent healing mechanisms to reverse the symptoms of Ebola. The 3 homeopathic medicines and their indications are listed below:
Crotalus horridus 30CH (Centesimal Hahnemenium)
- headache
- disorganization of the blood
- bleeding from eyes, nose, mouth, intestines
- cough with bloody expectoration
- fever with bloody sweat
- pustular skin eruptions
- purple blood filled eruptions
Mercurius cyanatus 30CH (Centesimal Hahnemenium)
- headache
- great prostration
- tendency to easy bleeding
- pneumonia
- rapid respiration
- sore, raw throat
- easy tissue damage
- nausea
- bloody vomiting
- bloody stools, black stools
Arnica Montana 30CH (Centesimal Hahnemenium)
- sore, lame bruised feeling
- headache pinching
- head hot, body cold
- blood from ears
- dark fluid bleeding from nose
- vomiting of blood
- bloody putrid stool
- bloody expectoration
- shortness of breath
- coughing up of blood
- black and blue skin
- crops of small boils
- extreme weakness & drowsiness
If any cases of Hemorrhagic Fever occur in the U.S., Dr. Hansen recommends taking Homeopathic Biological Defense H in addition to the above listed Vitamins and all available conventional treatments. Dr. Hansen recommends taking Homeopathic Biological Defense H as follows: For known outbreak in the U.S., without direct exposure, take 1 tablet once per week for 4 weeks as a precaution to boost immune resistance. For an exposure without symptoms: Take Homeopathic Biological Defense H: 1 tablet once daily for 21 days as a precaution. If symptoms occur, begin taking 1 tablet 4 times daily, every 4 hours.Broad Spectrum Anti-Viral Drug in Development
Anti-Viral Drug Development
A group of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) supported researchers led by Dr. Benhur Lee and his team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), has identified a small-molecule “broad spectrum” antiviral that is effective fighting multiple deadly viruses, including HIV-1, Ebola, Rift Valley fever, and Nipah. The compound—a rhodanine derivative that researchers have named LJ001—could also be effective against emerging viruses that have yet to be identified.
Viruses can be divided generally into two main categories: lipid-enveloped and non-enveloped. A lipid-enveloped virus uses its surrounding membrane to transport its genome into the next target host cell, thereby infecting it. In a study published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers describe how LJ001 inhibited entry, or infectious spread, of a wide variety of enveloped viruses, and a large number of highly virulent pathogens, without affecting non-enveloped viruses. Despite different target cell types, viruses, and measures of infectivity, LJ001 demonstrated roughly similar success among the enveloped viruses tested. These results suggest that the antiviral likely targets a component common to the entire class of enveloped viruses. There are few known broad-spectrum antiviral and even fewer that are approved. Those few have serious deficiencies. Ribavirin, for example, affects both the virus proteins and the host cell but is effective on only a limited numbers of viruses.
Vaccines
The Vaccine Research Center (VRC) has developed an Ebola vaccine candidate in collaboration with Okairos, a Swiss-Italian biotech company recently acquired by GSK. The investigational vaccine, which was designed by VRC scientists, contains no infectious Ebola virus material. It is a chimpanzee adenovirus vector vaccine into which two Ebola genes have been inserted. This is a non-replicating viral vector, which means the vaccine enters a cell, delivers the gene inserts and does not replicate further. The gene inserts express a protein to which the body makes an immune response. The investigational vaccine has recently shown promise in a primate model. The VRC vaccine will enter into a phase 1 clinical trial, which could start enrollment as early as fall 2014, pending approval by the FDA. The VRC is also in discussions with governmental and non-governmental partners regarding options for advancing this candidate beyond Phase I clinical evaluation.
There is no currently available vaccine for any of the viral hemorrhagic fevers. If Hemorrhagic Fever is found in the U.S., or if you plan to travel in the Sudan, Uganda, Afghanistan, or Pakistan, Dr. Hansen recommends taking Homeopathic Biological Defense H: 1 tablet once per week for 4 weeks as a precaution to boost immune resistance.
last update by Dr. Hansen on 16 October 2014