The Ebola virus is one of the most deadly pathogens in the world. The virus damages the lining of blood vessels and platelets, making it difficult for blood to coagulate. This, in turn, usually results in hemorrhagic fever. In short, if untreated the patient literally bleeds to death from the inside out with the virus ultimately liquefying the patient's internal organs.
Given the lack of medical facilities in many of the places where Ebola has broken out, reaching a definitive Ebola diagnosis can be a doctor's greatest challenge. Monitoring a patient's symptoms can be only partially effective in reaching a conclusive Ebola diagnosis, however, because the symptoms mirror so many other conditions including Typhoid fever, malaria, or the flu.
Initial symptoms come on suddenly and include muscle and joint pain, headaches, a high fever and abdominal pain. As the condition worsens, more prominent symptoms appear including bleeding from orifices, bloody diarrhea, and red, bloodshot eyes. Open wounds that have not yet healed completely may also bleed.
These latter symptoms are generally the more definitive ones used by physicians (in the absence of a blood test) when committing to an Ebola diagnosis of the patient. Other methods used in conclusively diagnosing Ebola (if and where available) are urine and blood tests. The most conclusive tests use a method that analyzes the patients immunoflourescent antibody levels.
Once an Ebola diagnosis is conclusively reached, there is little that can be done for the patient. The mortality rate for Ebola is extremely high, with most patients dying of organ failure brought on by hemorrhagic fever.
For the most part, the patient is treated for secondary conditions such as dehydration and closely monitored for oxygen and blood pressure monitors. The replacement of coagulating elements has been shown to help stop the bleeding.