EBOLA VIRUS - Flesh-Eating Virus

EBOLA VIRUS  (Flesh-Eating Virus)

The 2014 WEST AFRICA EBOLA OUTBREAK IS NOW LARGEST IN HISTORY.  The current outbreak in the neighboring countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone has sickened more than 1,300 people and killed more than 700 since March 2014. The outbreak is unusual for West Africa as the disease is typically found in the center and east of the continent.

1. SOME PEOPLE HAVE SURVIVED EBOLA. While the fatality rate for Ebola can be as high as 90 percent, health officials in the three countries say people have recovered from the virus and the current death rate is about 60 percent. Those who fared best sought immediate medical attention and got supportive care to prevent dehydration even though there is no specific medical treatment for Ebola itself.  A plant (herb) that is being studied for the disease is Garcinia kola (Bitter kola), and in laboratory tests it is said to halt the virus in its tracks.  It is a plant that is commonly eaten in West Africa.  Extracts from Garcinia kola seeds were tested against many complex viral diseases. The active compound, now known to be a bioflavonoid, was found to be active against a wide range of viruses including the influenza virus.

2. EBOLA CAN LOOK LIKE OTHER DISEASES. The early symptoms of an Ebola infection include fever, headache, muscle aches and sore throat. It can be difficult to distinguish between Ebola and malaria, typhoid fever or cholera. Only in later stages do people with Ebola begin bleeding both internally and externally, often through the nose and ears.

4. EBOLA IS ONLY SPREAD THROUGH CLOSE CONTACT. The Ebola virus is not airborne, so people would have to come into direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. These include blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva or semen — making transmission through casual contact in a public setting unlikely.

Vitamin C and Ebola:  The very first symptoms of Ebola are exactly the same as Scurvy, which is caused by inadequate vitamin C. Though Scurvy is seldom fatal as a primary condition, scurvy also represents only a partial deficiency of vitamin C - - the body still has a LOT of vitamin C compared to zero Vitamin C, which Ebola causes.  Absent ANY vitamin C (which happens quickly in Ebola), blood vessels become very weak and start to lose blood, and platelets become ineffective and unable to trigger clots.  Thus, death by Ebola is caused by massive internal bleeding and loss of blood, which can be stopped simply by taking enormous doses of vitamin C until the immune system succeeds in killing off the virus.

Ebola (initially recognized in 1976) is probably the best known of a class of viruses known as hemorrhagic fever viruses.  The Ebola virus infection, also known as African hemorrhagic fever, has the distinction of having the highest case-fatality rate of the viral infections noted above, ranging from 53% to 88%.  Other less-known, but related, viral syndromes include Yellow fever, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Rift Valley fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Kyasanur Forest disease, Omsk hemorrhagic fever, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever, Brazilian hemorrhagic fever, Argentine hemorrhagic fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, and Lassa fever.

These viral hemorrhagic fever syndromes share certain clinical features. The Cecil Textbook of Medicine notes that these diseases are characterized by capillary fragility, which translates to easy bleeding, that can frequently lead to severe shock and death.  These diseases also tend to consume and/or destroy the platelets, which play an integral role in blood clotting. The clinical presentation of these viral diseases is similar to scurvy, which is also characterized by capillary fragility and a tendency to bleed easily.  Characteristic skin lesions develop, which are actually multiple tiny areas of bleeding into the skin that surround the hair follicles.  Some cases even include bleeding into already healed scars.

In the classic form of Scurvy that evolves very slowly from the gradual depletion of vitamin C in the body’s stores, the immune system will be sufficiently compromised for infection to claim the patient’s life before the extensive hemorrhage that occurs after all vitamin C stores have been completely exhausted.  Ebola virus and the other viral hemorrhagic fevers are much more likely to cause hemorrhaging before any other fatal infection has a chance to become established.  This is because the virus so rapidly and totally metabolizes and consumes all available vitamin C in the bodies of the victims that an advanced stage of scurvy is literally produced after only a few days of the disease.  The Scurvy stage in Ebola is so complete that the blood vessels generally cannot keep from hemorrhaging long enough to allow an infective complication to develop.   

The viral hemorrhagic fevers typically only take hold and reach epidemic proportions in those populations that would already be expected to have low body stores of vitamin C, such as is found in many of the severely malnourished Africans.  In such individuals, an infecting hemorrhagic virus will often wipe out any remaining vitamin C stores before the immune systems can get the upper hand and initiate recovery.  When the vitamin C stores are rapidly depleted by large infecting doses of an aggressive virus, the immune system gets similarly depleted and compromised. However, this point is largely academic after hemorrhaging throughout the body has begun.

Dr. Robert Cathcart (1981), who introduced the concept of bowel tolerance to vitamin C, hypothesized that Ebola and the other acute viral hemorrhagic fevers may well require 500,000 mg of vitamin C daily to reach bowel tolerance! Whether this estimate is accurate, it seems clear as evidenced by the scurvy-like clinical manifestations of these infections that vitamin C dosing must be vigorous and given in extremely high doses.  If the disease seems to be winning, then even more vitamin C should be given until symptoms begin to lessen. Obviously, these are viral diseases that would absolutely require high doses of vitamin C intravenously as the initial therapy. The oral administration should begin simultaneously, but the intravenous route should not be abandoned until the clinical response is complete. Death occurs too quickly with the hemorrhagic fevers to be conservative when dosing the vitamin C.   (see Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable by Thomas E. Levy MD JD)

The controversial Dr. Frederick R. Klenner demonstrated on thousands of patients that intravenous Vitamin C in mega doses eradicates viral diseases.  However, not all viruses have been treated with Klenner-sized vitamin C doses, or at least the results have not been published.  Ebola viral infection and the other acute viral hemorrhagic fevers appear to be diseases that fall into this category.  Because of the seemingly exceptional ability of these viruses to rapidly deplete vitamin C stores, even larger doses of vitamin C than what Klenner used, would likely be required in order to effectively reverse and eventually cure infections caused by these viruses.

According to Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, "health" occurs when there is an ample flow and interchange of electrons in your cells. Impaired or poor electron flow and interchange equals "disease," and when the flow and interchange ceases entirely, your cells die.

·        Oxidation, caused by free radicals in your body, involves the loss of electrons.

·        Antioxidants counter the disease process caused by oxidation (loss of electrons) by supplying electrons.

·        Vitamin C is a major antioxidant, and according to Dr. Levy, perhaps the most important "electron donor" to maintain optimal electron flow in your cells.

Using vitamin C to combat infectious diseases is not new.  In 2005, the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource), published findings that vitamin C beats Bird flu and other viruses, stating that:  "High dose vitamin C is a remarkably safe and effective treatment for viral infections.  In high doses, vitamin C neutralizes free radicals, helps kill viruses, and strengthens your body's immune system.  Taking supplemental vitamin C routinely helps prevent viral infections."

For severe types of influenza, such as Bird flu (Avian flu), they recommend the following dosages:  "Severe cases may require 200,000 to 300,000 milligrams of vitamin C or more, given intravenously (IV) by a physician.  This very high dosing may be needed since the Avian Flu appears to consume vitamin C very rapidly, similar to an acute viral hemorrhagic fever, somewhat like an Ebola infection."   They even state that vitamin C, at saturation, can replace antiviral drugs.

Three other sources discussing the remarkable benefits of vitamin C for infectious diseases such as the flu:

1. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 1999 found that Vitamin C in mega-doses administered before or after the appearance of cold and flu symptoms relieved and prevented the symptoms in the test population compared with the control group.

2. The Clinical Experiences of Frederick R. Klenner, MD states that cases of influenza, encephalitis, and measles were easily cured with vitamin C injections and oral doses.

3. Orthomed.com – Dr. Robert Cathcart, MD, also offers personal case studies where intravenous administration of vitamin C turned out to be lifesaving in cases of acute flu complications.  "It is not really a matter of medicine; it is a matter of chemistry.  Doses of ascorbate which are massive enough to force a reducing redox potential into tissues affected by the disease will always neutralize the free radicals," he says.

Foods such as Broccoli are absolutely excellent for assisting the clotting of blood and are strongly anti-viral. Leafy green vegetables are among the best sources of vitamin K, which is named for the German word for "coagulation," according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. The primary function of vitamin K in your body is as an essential component in the coagulation cascade, or series of steps that leads to blood clotting.  A serving of spinach, broccoli, kale, parsley or chard each provides at least 100 percent of the daily value, and you can also get vitamin K from soybean oil.

Salmon and sardines with the bones, as well as calcium-fortified orange juice, cereals, soy products and dairy products can help your blood clot because of their calcium. Calcium is an essential mineral at seven different points in the coagulation cascade that results in blood clotting once you've cut yourself, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center.

A Word of Caution about Vitamin C Supplements:  It's important to remember that every nutrient you ingest raises or lowers up to nine other nutrients in your body.

Every nutrient needs certain synergistic nutrients, and if you are already low in those synergistic nutrients, taking more of one thing will only further deplete the existing deficient levels, worsening any problems relating to that nutrient's metabolism.

For example, taking large doses of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) on a regular basis lowers your level of copper, so if you are already deficient in copper and take high doses of vitamin C, you can compromise your immune system.

Temporarily taking megadoses of vitamin C supplements to combat a case of the cold or flu is likely not going to cause a problem.  For long-term, daily use, your best bet is to eat a diet high in organic vegetables and fruits that are minimally processed.  Not only will you get vitamin C, but you will get all the other accessory nutrients and micronutrients that are needed to optimize it.

Claims of cures using colloidal silver (while good for bacterial infections) do nothing for viruses, so beware. Colloidal silver’s mode of action (MOA) is to bacteria what cyanide is for all red blooded organisms.  In red blooded organisms, cyanide binds with hemoglobin in place of oxygen, and makes it impossible for blood to carry oxygen.  With enough cyanide, oxygen starvation via cyanide bonded hemoglobin causes death.  Colloidal silver does the same for bacteria, it binds with the oxygen carriers in bacteria permanently, causing bacteria to quickly die from oxygen starvation.  VIRUSES HAVE NO METABOLIC PROCESSES WHICH REQUIRE AN OXYGEN CARRIER, AND THEREFORE COLLOIDAL SILVER WILL BE COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE AGAINST EBOLA.  Do not let the misinformed fool you by saying colloidal silver is effective against viruses in any way.  Colloidal silver is only useful for treating secondary bacterial infections that move in after a preceding viral infection and in the case of Ebola, there is not enough time for that to make a difference.