disaster 5th 1108_5th ed 2011 - Homeland Security and Emergency ...

up to 14 days) ... may include fever, chills, joint pain, weakness, and ...
• Skin - may also include a bump or ulcers on bite, swollen
and painful lymph glands
• Stomach - may also include sore throat, abdominal pain,
ulcers on or in mouth, diarrhea or puking
• Lungs - may also include dry cough, chest pain, bloody
spittle, trouble breathing or stops breathing
Treatment: Tularemia can be treated with antibiotics but exposure to F.
tularensis should be treated as soon as possible since it can be deadly.
Viral hemorrhagic [hem-o-RAJ-ik] fevers (VHFs) - are a group of diseases
or illnesses caused by several families of viruses. There are many
types of VHFs - some the public may recognize are Ebola, Marburg or
hantavirus. Some VHFs cause mild reactions or illnesses while others are
deadly. Most VHFs are highly contagious and associated with bleeding
(hemorrhage), but that’s usually not life-threatening. In severe cases, the
overall vascular - or blood vessel - system is damaged so the body can’t
regulate itself thus causing organs to shut down.
Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are quite an extensive and complex topic
so we are only mentioning it here since it’s on the CDC’s Category A list.
Both the CDC and the Public Health Agency of Canada cover VHFs at
length on their web sites if you would like to learn more. We’re just briefly
explaining how it can spread and listing some general signs and symptoms
in the event you ever hear about “viral hemorrhagic fevers” in the news.
How it spreads: Most viruses associated with VHFs naturally reside in
animals (mice or other rodents) or insects (ticks or mosquitoes). Some VHF
viruses could spread to humans by the bite of an infected insect or by
breathing in or touching an infected animal’s pee, poop, or other body
fluids. (For example, a person crawling in a rat-infested area could stir up
and breathe in a virus, or someone slaughtering livestock infected by an
insect bite could also spread the virus.) Some other viruses spread person to
person through close contact with an infected person’s body fluids.
Signs & Symptoms: Signs vary (from minor to deadly) by the type of
VHF, but first symptoms often include sudden fever, fatigue (very tired),
dizziness, weakness and headache. Person could also have a sore throat,
abdominal pain, puking, and diarrhea. Severe cases often show signs of
bleeding under the skin, in internal organs, or from the mouth, eyes, or ears.
Blood loss is not usually life-threatening, but the damaged vascular system
can cause shock, coma, seizures, organ failure or death.
Treatment: There is no specific cure or vaccine for most VHFs.
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