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Teresa Romero.

The Spanish nursing assistant who became the first person to contract Ebola outside of Africa after treating two infected missionaries in Madrid has tested negative for the virus in her latest blood check, according to family spokesperson Teresa Mesa. The government's scientific Ebola committee later confirmed the result on Sunday.

A second test still needs to be carried out to confirm Teresa Romero's state, which will take place in 48 hours, but if it produces another negative result, doctors might then be able to conclude she has definitively overcome the virus.

Romero "is very excited and lively and is eager to get out," said Mesa, who spoke with her friend Romero for the first time in hospital on Sunday.

But even if the second result does come back negative, Romero will have to remain in Madrid's Carlos III Hospital - where she has been under care since October 6 - for some time to come. Her lungs have been badly affected by the virus - though latest reports say she no longer needs an oxygen mask - and she only began eating orally again three days ago.

Romero is likely to have to remain under observation for at least another three weeks - the incubation period of the virus - to ensure the infection does not come back. Only then will she be considered cured.

"Now we have to prepare her for what there is outside, we have already started telling her that her case has had a lot of repercussions," Mesa explained. "I've told her that she is a heroine and that the whole of Spain is waiting to hear news about her."

Mesa on Sunday also visited Romero's husband, Javier Limón, who remains under observation in Carlos III Hospital with 14 others who came into contact with the nursing assistant when she was infectious. So far none has shown any signs of the disease. In a video distributed via Mesa, Limón confirmed the result of his wife's blood test and announced that he plans to take legal action over the "great botch" that has been Spain's management of the Ebola crisis.

There is no single explanation for why Romero seems to have been able to overcome the virus. The current outbreak has a mortality rate of 70 percent: there have been more than 9,000 recorded cases in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and 4,500 registered deaths - one in three people is cured despite the scarcity of health services in those countries.

Romero received two experimental treatments simultaneously - plasma from a nurse who overcame the disease and an antiviral drug - making it difficult to ascertain how each measure might have contributed to helping cure her.

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Spanish nursing assistant tests negative for Ebola for first time

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The Spanish nursing assistant who became the first person to contract Ebola outside of Africa after treating two infected missionaries in Madrid has tested negative for the virus in her latest blood check, according to family spokesperson Teresa Mesa. The government's scientific Ebola committee later confirmed the result on Sunday.

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Be careful

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¿Qué es el VIH?

El VIH (virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana) es un virus que ataca al sistema inmunitario. El sistema inmunitario se debilita, poniéndole difícil al cuerpo combatir las infecciones y algunos tipos de cánceres.

La mayoría de las personas a quienes les diagnostican pronto esta infección y que toman medicamentos contra el VIH pueden llevar vidas largas y satisfactorias.

¿Qué es el SIDA?

El SIDA (síndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida) ocurre después de que una persona lleve muchos años infectada por el VIH. En el SIDA, el sistema inmunitario se debilita gravemente. Por lo tanto, se contraen infecciones graves y se desarrollan problemas de salud importantes.

Los medicamentos pueden ayudar a que una infección por el VIH no evolucione a un SIDA.

¿Cómo se contagia el VIH?

El VIH se contagia cuando sangre o fluidos corporales (como el semen o las secreciones vaginales) infectados entran en el cuerpo de una persona. Esto puede ocurrir al:

mantener relaciones sexuales (sobre todo, vaginales y anales)

compartir agujas para inyectarse drogas o hacersetatuajes

pincharse con una aguja que contenga sangre de una persona infectada

El VIH también puede pasar de la madre al hijo durante el embarazo, el alumbramiento o la lactancia.

El VIH NO se contagia a través de:

el pis, las cacas, los escupitajos, los vómitos o el sudor (siempre y cuando no contengan sangre)

las toses o los estornudos

darse la mano

compartir utensilios para comer o para beber (vasos, platos y similares)

¿Cuáles son los signos y los síntomas de la infección por el VIH y el SIDA?

Cuando una persona se acaba de infectar con el VIH, puede presentar:

fiebre

ganglios inflamados

úlceras dolorosas en la boca o alrededor del ano o del pene

dolor de cabeza

erupción en la piel

dolor en los huesos y/o en las articulaciones

Estos síntomas desaparecerán al cabo de pocas semanas. En los primeros años de una infección por el VIH, la persona infectada puede tener síntomas leves, como ganglios linfáticos inflamados.

Puesto que los síntomas de una infección por el VIH pueden ser leves al principio, muchas personas pueden no saber que están infectadas. Y puede contagiar el VIH a otras personas sin saberlo.

Pasados varios años, pueden aparecer otros síntomas, como los siguientes:

diarrea

pérdida de peso

contraer un mayor número de infecciones

contraer infecciones que son más graves de lo habitual

Sin tratamiento, una infección por el VIH puede conducir a un sistema inmunitario muy debilitado y acabar evolucionando a un SIDA. Las enfermedades que pueden ocurrir con el SIDA se llaman "enfermedades definitorias del SIDA".

Entre ellas, se incluyen las siguientes:

pérdida de peso muy rápida e intensa (llamada síndrome de desgaste)

una infección de pulmón llamada neumonía neumoquística

sarcoma de Kaposi (un tipo de cáncer de piel)

linfoma (cáncer en las células del sistema inmunitario)

¿Qué provocan las infecciones por el VIH y el SIDA?

El VIH destruye las células CD4 (también llamadas "células T"). Las células CD4 forman parte del sistema inmunitario. Combaten los gérmenes que entran en el cuerpo y ayudan a prevenir algunos tipos de cánceres.

¿Cómo se diagnostica una infección por el VIH?

Los profesionales de la salud suelen diagnosticar las infecciones por el VIH mediante análisis de sangre. Una persona infectada por el VIH se dice que es "positiva al VIH".

Hay pruebas del VIH que se pueden comprar en farmacias y droguerías sin necesidad de receta médica. Te puedes hacer la prueba en casa.

¿Cómo se diagnostica el SIDA?

Una infección por el VIH se diagnostica como SIDA cuando el paciente:

tiene menos de 200 células CD4
o

desarrolla una enfermedad definitoria del SIDA.

¿Cómo se tratan las infecciones por el VIH y el SIDA?

Hay medicamentos que pueden ayudar a que las personas infectadas por el VIH se mantengan sanas. También pueden impedir que una infección por el VIH evolucione a un SIDA.

Los profesionales de la salud pueden recetar una combinación de varios tipos distintos de medicamentos a sus pacientes infectados por el VIH o con SIDA. Estos pacientes deben tomar exactamente lo que les hayan recetado para que la medicación funcione correctamente. Estos medicamentos:

ayudan a mantener alta la cantidad de células CD4

reducen la carga viral de VIH (cuántos virus hay en el cuerpo)

Los análisis de sangre evaluarán la cantidad de células CD4 que hay en el cuerpo (lo que se llama recuento de células CD4) y la carga viral.

Si el recuento de células CD4 en una persona positiva al VIH bajara mucho, los médicos le recetarían antibióticos diarios. Esto sirve para prevenir la neumonía neumoquística, que ocurre en personas con sistemas inmunitarios muy debilitados.

¿Es posible prevenir las infecciones por el VIH?

Para reducir el riesgo de contraer una infección por el VIH, las personas que mantengan relaciones sexuales deberían:

usar condones (o preservativos) cada vez que mantengan relaciones sexuales (vaginales, orales o anales)

hacerse la prueba del VIH y asegurarse de que todos sus compañeros sexuales se la hacen también

reducir la cantidad de compañeros sexuales

hacerse las pruebas y tratase las ETS (enfermedades de transmisión sexual) el hecho de tener una ETS aumenta el riesgo de contraer una infección por el VIH.

considerar la posibilidad de medicarse cada día, lo que se llama profilaxis pre-exposición (PrEP, por sus siglas en inglés) si hay un riesgo muy alto de infección (por ejemplo, si se han mantenido relaciones sexuales regulares con una persona positiva al VIH)

Nadie debería:

Inyectarse drogas ni compartir ningún tipo de aguja.

Compartir maquinillas de afeitar ni ningún otro objeto de uso personal que pueda entrar en contacto con la sangre.

Tocar la sangre de otra persona procedente de un corte o de otro tipo de herida.

De cara al futuro

El tratamiento ha mejorado considerablemente la vida de la gente positiva al VIH. Medicándose y recibiendo cuidados médicos regulares, las personas positivas al VIH pueden tener vidas largas y satisfactorias.

Las personas positivas al VIH necesitan un equipo médico completo para que puedan recibir el mejor tratamiento y el mejor apoyo.

Si tú o alguien que conoces es positivo al VIH o tiene el SIDA, es importante:

acudir a todas las visitas médicas

tomarse todos los medicamentos exactamente como lo hayan indicado los médicos

hacerse todos los análisis de sangre que se tengan programados

entender qué es una infección por el VIH y qué es el SIDA y cómo se propagan estas enfermedades

estar activo desde el punto de vista físico, dormir lo suficiente y comer bien

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El VIH (virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana) es un virus que ataca al sistema inmunitario. El sistema inmunitario se debilita, poniéndole difícil al cuerpo combatir las infecciones y algunos tipos de cánceres. La mayoría de las personas a quienes les diagnostican pronto esta infección y que toman medicamentos contra el VIH pueden llevar vidas largas y satisfactorias.

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Black death video

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The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. Explore the facts of the plague, the symptoms it caused and how millions died from it.

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differences

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A pandemic is an outbreak of global proportions. It happens when infection due to a bacterium or virus becomes capable of spreading widely and rapidly.

The disease behind a pandemic can cause severe illness and spread easily from one person to the next.

As of March 2020, the world is currently dealing with a global outbreak of COVID-19. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised that this disease has the characteristics of a pandemic.

Many governments have now restricted free movement and placed populations under lockdown to limit the spread of the pandemic.

In this article, we discuss the difference between epidemics and pandemics, how pandemics start, and future concerns.

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During a pandemic, governments may restrict free movement and put populations under lockdown.

According to the WHO, a pandemic involves the worldwide spread of a new disease. While an epidemic remains limited to one city, region, or country, a pandemic spreads beyond national borders and possibly worldwide.

Authorities consider a disease to be an epidemic when the number of people with the infection is higher than the forecast number within a specific region.

If an infection becomes widespread in several countries at the same time, it may turn into a pandemic.

A new virus strain or subtype that easily transmits between humans can cause a pandemic. Bacteria that become resistant to antibiotic treatment may also be behind the rapid spread.

Sometimes, pandemics occur when new diseases develop the ability to spread rapidly, such as the Black Death, or bubonic plague.

Humans may have little or no immunity against a new virus. Often, a new virus cannot spread between animals and people. However, if the disease changes or mutates, it may start to spread easily, and a pandemic may result.

Seasonal influenza (flu) epidemics generally occur as a result of subtypes of a virus that is already circulating among people. Novel subtypes, on the other hand, generally cause pandemics. These subtypes will not previously have circulated among humans.

A pandemic affects a higher number of people and can be more deadly than an epidemic. It can also lead to more social disruption, economic loss, and general hardship on a wider scale.

Writing in March 2020, the current pandemic has had an unprecedented impact across the globe.

COVID-19 is a disease that develops due to infection with a type of coronavirus. The virus started causing infections in Wuhan, China, before spreading internationally.

On the recommendation of the WHO, more than one-third of the world's population is on lockdown. Several countries - including the United States, United Kingdom, India, and China - have closed their borders, affecting global travel and industry.

People in many countries have also lost employment as a result of "nonessential" businesses closing to restrict the spread of the virus. Restaurants, gyms, religious buildings, parks, and offices have closed in many places.

A pandemic can also increase the pressure on healthcare systems by raising the demand for certain treatments.

People with severe COVID-19 symptoms use more ventilators and beds in intensive care. As a result, resources may be in short supply for others who need this equipment.

However, countries have put in place measures to counter this. For example, the U.S. government has requested that companies, including Ford and General Motors, start making respirators, ventilators, and face shields to meet increased demand.

Authorities hope that these emergency manufacturing measures and the restrictions of movement - which have a worldwide economic and social impact - will slow the spread of the disease.

Countries are collaborating on sourcing medical equipment and developing a vaccine, even though it may not be available for months or even years.
Learn more about the symptoms of COVID-19 here, as well as how to reduce the spread.
A pandemic can occur when a type of influenza virus, known as the influenza A virus, mutates suddenly.

This change can result in what the body sees as a completely new virus. The major and abrupt change from a recognizable virus to a new one is called an antigenic shift.

On the surface of the virus are HA proteins and NA proteins. If one or both of these change, a new influenza A virus subtype can result. Influenza viruses have an H figure and an N figure. Swine flu, for example, is also known as H1N1, while avian flu has the subtype H5N1.

If a flu subtype gains the ability to spread rapidly between people, a pandemic may result.

After the pandemic emerges and spreads, humans develop some immunity over time. The virus subtype may then circulate among humans for several years, causing occasional flu epidemics.

Various organizations around the world, such as the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), monitor the behavior and movement of influenza viruses.

Their findings help health authorities develop strategies for controlling the spread and impact of influenza.

The Spanish flu pandemic, from 1918 to 1920, claimed 100 million lives. Experts consider it the most severe pandemic in history. The Black Death was fatal for more than 75 million people in the 14th century.

Some pandemics that have occurred throughout history include:

Animals carry some viruses that rarely spread to humans. Sometimes, these viruses can mutate and become transmissible to and between people.

When an animal virus first passes to humans, health authorities focus on it as a potential pandemic. This transmission indicates that a virus is mutating and might become highly contagious and harmful.

Swine flu and avian flu are viral diseases that were common in pigs and birds, respectively, but not humans. This changed once an antigenic shift occurred.

In recent years, there has also been concern about viruses that experts have linked to camels (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS-CoV) and monkeys ( Ebola).
Find out more about the flu.
The WHO have a six-phase program for identifying potential flu pandemics:

Phase 1: No local health authorities have reported that an influenza virus circulating among animals can cause disease in humans.

Phase 2: An animal influenza virus circulating in domesticated or wild animals has caused infection in humans. The WHO consider this a potential pandemic threat.

Phase 3: An animal or human-animal influenza virus has caused disease in small clusters of people. However, it has not resulted in human-to-human transmission that is rapid enough to sustain community-level outbreaks.

Phase 4: The WHO verify that human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza virus is now able to sustain community-level outbreaks.

Phase 5: The same virus has caused sustained community-level outbreaks in two or more countries within a single WHO region.

Phase 6: In addition to the phase 5 criteria, the same virus has caused sustained community-level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region.

Post-peak period: Levels of pandemic influenza in most countries with adequate surveillance have dropped below peak levels.

Post-pandemic period: Levels of influenza activity have returned to the usual levels of seasonal influenza in most countries with adequate surveillance.

According to these definitions, the COVID-19 pandemic is currently in phase 6.

Medical science has advanced rapidly in recent years, but it is unlikely ever to offer full protection from a possible pandemic because of the novel nature of the diseases involved.

Humans would not have natural immunity to a newly mutated disease, meaning that it could have severe effects after spreading between people.

The following have been or continue to be potential causes of concern:

Coronaviruses

Coronaviruses have caused concern due to their potential to lead to pandemics in recent years. Examples of coronavirus infections, in addition to SARS-CoV-2, include SARS and MERS. In March 2020, SARS-CoV-2 was the first coronavirus to reach a pandemic level, by causing COVID-19.

Previously, health agencies and government bodies managed to prevent coronavirus infections from becoming more than localized epidemics. MERS is still active, but outbreaks occur on a much smaller scale and less frequently.

COVID-19, on the other hand, has reached every continent except Antarctica.

Viral hemorrhagic fevers

Viral hemorrhagic fevers, including those that the Ebola and Marburg viruses cause, could become pandemics. However, close contact is necessary for these diseases to spread.

Modern surveillance systems, lessons from the most recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and an experimental vaccine offer hope that authorities can deal with future outbreaks swiftly, increasing the chances of disease containment.

Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance is also a major concern. Resistant strains of tuberculosis are among the most worrying.

A 2016 study estimated that almost half a million new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) occurred globally in 2013.

Influenza

Wild birds are natural hosts for a variety of influenza strains.

Rarely, these influenza strains pass from birds to humans, sparking epidemics with the potential to become pandemics without active surveillance and containment measures.

Avian flu (H5N1) is an example of this. Authorities first identified the strain in Vietnam in 2004. It never progressed beyond epidemic levels, but the virus's potential ability to combine with human flu viruses is a concern to scientists.

Ebola

The largest Ebola epidemic took place in Liberia and the surrounding West African nations from 2014 to 2015.

Significant efforts to contain the spread prevented Ebola from turning into a pandemic, even though some people developed the infection overseas.

Ebola has recently resurfaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the WHO are monitoring the situation.

Pandemics are diseases that break out on a global scale. Diseases that spread from animals to humans are often the cause.

From Europe's Black Death during the Middle Ages to the Spanish flu around the time of the First World War, pandemics can change the course of society for many years to come.

The current pandemic, COVID-19, is causing disruption across the entire world.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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A pandemic is an outbreak of global proportions. It happens when infection due to a bacterium or virus becomes capable of spreading widely and rapidly. The disease behind a pandemic can cause severe illness and spread easily from one person to the next.

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For both seasonal and pandemic influenza, the highest levels of activity would be expected to occur in the usual influenza season period for an area. (In the temperate climate zones, this is usually the winter months, for example). But as was seen with the current H1N1 pandemic, pandemics can have unusual epidemiological patterns and large outbreaks can occur in the summer months.