Have you ever gotten sick and thought “this is it, this is the end” and then the next day you’re completely fine? If so, you’d know you probably had a virus of some kind. Looking back it probably wasn’t too bad, in fact it could/ve been much much worse. Today we will talk about 4 of the world’s most deadly viruses.
The first virus is the Zaire Ebola virus. It has a mortality rate of 60%-90% according to the National institutes of health. A mortality rate is the percentage of people that die directly from the virus. What this virus does is it causes a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and even in other mammals. A fatal hemorrhagic fever refers to a condition that affects your heart and arteries and basically turns your organs into liquid. This virus is a rare virus that is contracted through contact with another infected animal or a sick/dead infected person.
The next virus is Smallpox. According to World Health Organization Smallpox has a mortality rate of about 30%. And between 65% and 80% of survivors have deep pitted scars most prominent on their face. Smallpoxs give you a fever and a distinctive, progressive skin rash. The rash consists of small blisters that are filled with a clear fluid. Typically the fever is between 101°F to 104°F. Smallpox was officially eradicated on May 8, 1980 due to vaccines.
Another dangerous virus is Hantavirus. According to NYC.gov Hantavirus has a mortality of 40-50%. The symptoms are flu-like but the primary symptom is difficulty breathing. The reason it’s so deadly is because it affects the tiny blood vessels in the lungs, causing blood and other fluids to leak into the air spaces in the lungs therefore making it very difficult to breathe. Hantavirus is spread when you breathe in air that is exposed to an infected rodent’s urine, droppings or saliva. It is not spread human to human.
The final virus I’ll be going over is rabies. If you get rabies, according to webmd, there is almost a 100% mortality rate after clinical symptoms appear. It is treatable before the dangerous symptoms start to happen. It is only transmitted through a bite from a rabid animal. So, if you get bit, it’s better to be safe and get it checked. Some early signs of rabies are weakness, discomfort, fever, or headache. These symptoms transition into cerebral dysfunction(any impairment in the brain), anxiety, confusion, and agitation(an increased sexual desire and heightened sexual arousal without anything to trigger it). The way it’s so deadly is due to cardio-respiratory arrest, which means that your heart stops beating(cardiac arrest) and you also stop breathing(respiratory arrest) even if your lungs are trying to breathe. Typically when an animal gets rabies it dies within a week(7 days).
So next time you have the flu or maybe covid, just know it could be way, way worse. It may still suck, but at least you’re not thinking “I’m actually going to die”. However, don’t let any of this scare you, all these viruses are extremely rare. There are also ways to prevent getting a virus. Washing your hands for 20 seconds is a great way to prevent disease, another way to prevent giving most diseases is sneezing/coughing into your sleeve. So be safe and take care of you and others.
