Ebola differential diagnosis: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
Before an [[outbreak]] is suspected, these early symptoms are easily mistaken for; | Before an [[outbreak]] is suspected, these early symptoms are easily mistaken for; | ||
*[[Dysentery]] | *[[Dysentery]] | ||
*[[Influenza]] | *[[Influenza]] | ||
*[[Malaria]] | *[[Malaria]] | ||
| Line 14: | Line 13: | ||
*Various [[bacteria|bacterial infections]] | *Various [[bacteria|bacterial infections]] | ||
These are all far more common and reliably less fatal. | These are all far more common and reliably less fatal. | ||
Shown below is a table summarizing the typical findings of the differential diagnoses of ebola. | |||
{| style="border: 0px; font-size: 90%; margin: 3px;" align=center | |||
|+ | |||
! style="background: #4479BA; width: 120px;" | {{fontcolor|#FFF|Disease}} | |||
! style="background: #4479BA; width: 550px;" | {{fontcolor|#FFF|Findings}} | |||
|- | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #DCDCDC;" | '''[[Shigellosis]] & other bacterial enteric infections''' | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #F5F5F5;" | Presents with diarrhea, possibly bloody, accompanied by fever, nausea, and sometimes toxaemia, vomiting, cramps, and tenesmus. Stools contain blood and mucous in a typical case. A search for possible sites of bacterial infection, together with cultures and blood smears, should be made. Presence of leucocytosis distinguishes bacterial infections. | |||
|- | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #DCDCDC;" | '''[[Typhoid fever]]''' | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #F5F5F5;" | Presents with fever, headache, rash, gastrointestinal symptoms, with lymphadenopathy, relative bradycardia, cough and leucopenia and sometimes sore throat. Therapeutic trial with chloramphenicol or tetracyclines. Blood and stool culture can demonstrate causative bacteria. | |||
|- | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #DCDCDC;" |'''[[Malaria]]''' | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #F5F5F5;" |Presents with acute fever, headache and sometime diarrhoea (children). Blood smears must be examined for malaria parasites. Presence of parasites does NOT exclude concurrent viral infection. Antimalarial must be prescribed in an attempt at therapy. | |||
|- | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #DCDCDC;" | '''[[Lassa fever]]''' | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #F5F5F5;" |Disease onset is usually gradual, with fever, sore throat, cough, pharyngitis, and facial edema in the later stages. Inflammation and exudation of the pharynx and conjunctiva are common. | |||
|- | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #DCDCDC;" | '''[[Yellow fever]] and other [[Flaviviridae]] ''' | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #F5F5F5;" | Present with haemorrhagic complications. Epidemiological investigation may reveal a pattern of disease transmission by an insect vector. Virus isolation and serological investigation serves to distinguish these viruses. Confirmed history of previous yellow fever vaccination will rule out yellow fever. | |||
|- | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #DCDCDC;" | '''Others''' | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #F5F5F5;" |Viral hepatitis, leptospirosis, rheumatic fever, typhus, and mononucleosis produce signs and symptoms that may be confused with Ebola in the early stages of infection. | |||
|- | |||
| style="padding: 5px 5px; background: #FFF;" colspan="2"| <SMALL>Table adapted from '</SMALL> | |||
|- | |||
|} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 19:45, 19 June 2014
|
Ebola Microchapters |
|
Diagnosis |
|---|
|
Treatment |
|
Postmortem Care |
|
Case Studies |
|
Ebola differential diagnosis On the Web |
|
American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Ebola differential diagnosis |
|
Risk calculators and risk factors for Ebola differential diagnosis |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Michael Maddaleni, B.S.
Differentiating Ebola from other Diseases
Before an outbreak is suspected, these early symptoms are easily mistaken for;
- Dysentery
- Influenza
- Malaria
- Marburg virus
- Typhoid fever
- Various bacterial infections
These are all far more common and reliably less fatal.
Shown below is a table summarizing the typical findings of the differential diagnoses of ebola.
| Disease | Findings |
|---|---|
| Shigellosis & other bacterial enteric infections | Presents with diarrhea, possibly bloody, accompanied by fever, nausea, and sometimes toxaemia, vomiting, cramps, and tenesmus. Stools contain blood and mucous in a typical case. A search for possible sites of bacterial infection, together with cultures and blood smears, should be made. Presence of leucocytosis distinguishes bacterial infections. |
| Typhoid fever | Presents with fever, headache, rash, gastrointestinal symptoms, with lymphadenopathy, relative bradycardia, cough and leucopenia and sometimes sore throat. Therapeutic trial with chloramphenicol or tetracyclines. Blood and stool culture can demonstrate causative bacteria. |
| Malaria | Presents with acute fever, headache and sometime diarrhoea (children). Blood smears must be examined for malaria parasites. Presence of parasites does NOT exclude concurrent viral infection. Antimalarial must be prescribed in an attempt at therapy. |
| Lassa fever | Disease onset is usually gradual, with fever, sore throat, cough, pharyngitis, and facial edema in the later stages. Inflammation and exudation of the pharynx and conjunctiva are common. |
| Yellow fever and other Flaviviridae | Present with haemorrhagic complications. Epidemiological investigation may reveal a pattern of disease transmission by an insect vector. Virus isolation and serological investigation serves to distinguish these viruses. Confirmed history of previous yellow fever vaccination will rule out yellow fever. |
| Others | Viral hepatitis, leptospirosis, rheumatic fever, typhus, and mononucleosis produce signs and symptoms that may be confused with Ebola in the early stages of infection. |
| Table adapted from ' | |