2014 Ebola Outbreak

Ebola is the virus Ebolavirus (EBOV), a viral genus, and the disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF). The virus is named after the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), which is near the site of the first recognized outbreak in 1976 at a mission hospital run by Flemish nuns. It has remained largely obscure until 1989 when several widely publicized outbreaks occurred among

In 2014, Ebola hemorrhagic fever caused an outbreak in West Africa that officially ended in 2016. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, “Ebola is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus species” (“Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease)”). Ebola is caused when a person is in contact with an infected person’s blood or other body fluids. Prevention of contracting the disease include, not touching the dead body of an infected person, not touching body fluids of an infected person, avoiding places infected people are being treated, not touching bats or nonhuman primates

First discovered in the 1970’s, the ebola virus was contained to West Africa (“About Ebola Virus Disease”). Villagers’ diets consisted primarily of the resources readily available. Among these resources were fruit, vegetables, and animals, namely monkeys. Monkeys carried the ebola virus, and when people ate them, without proper cleaning and cooking techniques, they became infected. Ebola, formally known as Zaire Ebola Virus, is transmitted through bodily fluids like saliva, blood, semen, breast milk, mucus, sweat, tears, feces and urine. ("Ebola in West Africa."). Since it was introduced to a third world country, where hygiene is not regarded as important as survival. Without education, protection and segregated sewage, the virus began to spread. In days people were dying after spreading the virus to those closest to them (Waterman). The bodies, though dead, were still harboring the virus and

Diagnosing Ebola in an individual who has been infected for only a few days is difficult, as the early symptoms such as a skin rash and fevers are nonspecific to the Ebola virus and are seen often in patients with more commonly occurring diseases. This can cause the virus to develop so much that it can no longer be treated and the high death toll is a direct result of this. Death of Ebola victims usually occurs during the second week of Ebola symptoms and is mostly due to extreme blood loss.

As with any infectious disease, whether it originates from a virus, bacterium, or fungi, there is the possibility that it will become an epidemic. For centuries, deadly diseases have threatened to infect and possibly eradicate mankind. The Ebola virus, which causes an extremely fatal hemorrhagic fever, is considered to be one of the most aggressive contagions in the world. The Ebola virus is a member of a family of RNA viruses known as, “Filoviridae” and is composed of multiple distinct subspecies (Bausch et al. 2007). It causes Ebola Virus Disease, a fairly new disease that plagues multiple poor countries within Africa. The virus mainly attacks the lymphatic system, but also severely damages the reproductive and reticuloendothelial systems. The Ebola virus disease causes muscle pain, weakness, limited kidney and liver function and extreme blood loss due to failure of blood clotting.

Ebola was and still is a greatly talked about problem. Most people know that it is very contagious. The Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola river in Congo.The greatest outbreak of Ebola started in Guinea in December 2013.Ebola is a virus with several strains and it can cause the disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever. People that are infected with the Ebola virus get their immune system destroyed and eventually start bleeding internally and externally .Depending on the outbreak from 50 - 90% of the infected die from (EBV)

Ebola is so deadly, because it basically takes control over the body’s immune system (Cowart, 2014; Sullivan, Yan, and Nabel, 2003). Since Ebola targets the immune and vascular system, it pretty much targets all organs within the body (Cowart, 2014; Chan, 2014; Sullivan, Yan, and Nabel, 2003). According to Sullivan, Yan, and Nabel (2003), once the virus enters the body, it replicates at an accelerated rate overwhelming the body’s immune system. Upon infection with the virus, the virus invades the body’s monocytes and macrophages, which release cytokines that travel throughout a person’s vascular

II. Ebola has many symptoms, but no treatments. A. Early symptoms for Ebola are sudden onset fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches, and sore throat. 1. Some people may also develop rash, red eyes, hiccups, chest pains, and difficulty breathing and swallowing.

The Ebola Virus is an extremely deadly virus found in Africa. There have been multiple outbreaks across Africa and one in the United States. The Ebola virus basically causes uncontrollable bleeding externally and internally. Then your organs become liquefied. This usually results in death(www.encyclopedia.com). The following report contains info on the characteristics and history of the Ebola Virus.

1.The Ebola virus is transmitted to people from bats, animals include monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas, forest antelope and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. Ebola was introduced into the human population through the secretions, blood, organs or other bodily fluids of many different infected animals.

Ebola is an infectious disease that can take lives. If you have it you can't be the rest of the people until it is gone or you die. So if you get it it can be life threatening. It can be bad for people that have been close to someone that has caught the disease because you have a chance that you have the disease. So Ebola is a very bad disease that anybody can

What is Ebola virus? Also known as ‘Ebola hemorrhagic fever’ a virus that can cause death if

With over ten thousand people dead, the Ebola virus is a very serious and dangerous virus found mostly in some parts of Africa. The Ebola virus is a filovirus that can be deadly if left untreated, and one of the first cases of Ebola was documented at the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Ebola virus can be transmitted from person to person in several ways, one way is by having contact through the skin or through bodily fluids with someone who has the virus (WebMD, 2014). The virus is first obtained by being in contact with an infected animal. Then once a person has been infected by the virus, they spread it to other people. The symptoms of the Ebola virus is reported to be similar to the flu in the early days of being infected.

The symptoms of Ebola are a fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, vomiting, stomach pain, sore throat, diarrhea, weakness and occasionally read eyes, rashes, hiccups, and internal and external bleeding and since these symptoms are not specific to Ebola, it is difficult to clinically diagnose and can often be confused with other viruses. The ELISA testing, short for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and virus isolation are a couple of examples of the types of laboratory testing that can be done to diagnose and Ebola patient. Because of how easily it can be transmitted, it is extremely difficult to treat and there is no approved, official treatment. As of now, there is not standard treatment but usually the patients are given fluids and oxygen, have their blood pressure monitored and other necessary treatment. To prevent transmission and spreading the virus, the doctors use extreme caution and wear head to toe protective gear and isolate the patient. Even though the Ebola virus is common in Africa, there has been no known outbreak in the United States. Another difficulty facing scientists and the treatment for Ebola is that the natural reservoir for the virus unknown. The natural reservoir of a virus is it’s long term host of the

Ebola then spreads through direct contact with blood or other bodily fluids. Caregivers can contract this disease by coming in contact with blood, vomit, or other fluid. Ebola patients bleed intensely, so the chances of a caregiver contracting it is high. Also, many caregivers use rituals that require bathing the bodies, making them more vulnerable to infection. The disease is spreading from small, isolated villages to large cities, where it will be much harder to isolate patients.