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A Little Lowdown on Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers

Some of the scariest diseases known to man are those that trace back to tropical and sub-tropical climates. The viral hemorrhagic fevers in particular are the deadliest. These fevers belong to a few particular virus families and typically affect multiple organs in the body along with excessive bleeding (hemorrhaging). They also cause fatigue, muscle aches, loss of strength and exhaustion.

In viral hemorrhagic fevers, the vascular system in particular is harmed which hinders the remarkable healing powers of the body. The bleeding itself is not always the life-threatening part of one of these fevers, but rather the damage done to the internal organs which affect the biological operation of the body itself.

Viral hemorrhagic fevers belong to four virus families: flaviviruses, arenaviruses, bunyaviruses and filoviruses. These virus families all have a number of characteristics that are very similar to one another. For example, they all need an insect or animal as their host in order to grow and multiply so that they can spread. In addition, they are all RNA-type viruses.

These viruses are restricted to the areas where their insect or animal hosts live. In addition, people are not the hosts naturally but can be infected by the animal or insect host and spread the disease themselves to each other. There is no easy way to predict when an outbreak of viral hemorrhagic fever will occur and when they do, it tends to be erratic. As with other viruses, these hemorrhagic fever ones have no cure or special vaccination for treatment.

The thing with viral hemorrhagic fever is that the viruses that cause it are totally dependent on their insect, bug or animal hosts for survival and propagation. For this reason, insects, bugs and rodents are the top hosts for these viruses as they breed and reproduce young quite often so there is always a host available to them. Ticks and mosquitoes are popular on the bug and insect front. There are a few viral hemorrhagic fevers like Marburg in which the host is not known.

While these viral fevers are found all over the world, it is the ones in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the globe that receive the most attention. The reason is that many places with these outbreaks and prevalence of disease are in third world or developing countries, particularly in rural areas without ready access to clean water and medical care. That is why it is such a shock when people from industrialized countries visit there and become ill. There is really nothing quite like these viral hemorrhagic fevers in the United States thanks to healthcare, proper sanitations and clean water supplies.

With the increase in travel around the world however, there are more and more instances of where this viral fever diseases have found themselves infecting people far from their natural habitats. Because incubation periods of some of these diseases could be several days to weeks, people may not show illness until they are home. They bring the disease home and could possibly start a mini-outbreak in their own neck of the woods, far from the regions where the viruses originated.

The best defense against viral hemorrhagic fevers is to avoid the areas where the disease is endemic. Take precautions to not get bitten by the mosquitoes and other hosts of the virus.