The newspaper states that the mortality rate for Ebola is 60%.
However, I wonder what exactly that 60% represents. Does this reflect how many people survive regardless of the treatment they receive?
If not, should you see it as an average, with in reality big differences between places with good health care and places with bad health care?
Answer
Best,
A 60% mortality normally means no treatment. So it shows how dangerous a disease is if you don’t do anything about it. Treatment will reduce mortality. According to the WHO, mortality for Ebola is up to 90%.
The mortality that the papers are talking about is the one with treatment and then of course it will go down; in this case up to about 60%. The number is of course highly dependent on the care you receive and is an average of the different treatments over time and in different places.
Kind regards,
Answered by
Dr Jasper Verguts
Gynecology-Obstetrics
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
.