Course Project Paper: Ebola
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as the Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a highly infectious, deadly disease. Ebolavirus is from the virus family of Filoviridae, which also includes Cuevavirus and Marburgvirus. Five species of Ebolavirus have been identified: Zaire, Bundibugyo, Sudan, Reston, and Tai Forest.
The Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River, in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is now currently found in many African countries. The first EVD outbreaks occurred in small, remote villages in Central Africa near rainforests, but the recent 2014 outbreak began in West Africa, involving more urban areas than before. The most severely affected countries include Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, largely due to the fact that they lack strong health and sanitation systems. The Zaire, Bundibugyo, and Sudan species, previously mentioned, have been associated with the outbreaks in Africa. The recent 2014 outbreak belongs to the Zaire species.
In 2014, the largest Ebola epidemic in history affected multiple countries in West Africa. There were also two imported cases, including one death, and two locally acquired cases in healthcare providers reported in the United States. The epidemic was
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Within a few days after symptoms begin, the diagnostic tests that confirm Ebola virus infection are the following: antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing, IgM ELISA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), electron microscopy and virus isolation by cell culture. Later in the disease course, IgM and IgG antibody testing can be done. Retrospectively, immunohistochemistry testing, PCR, and virus isolation can be done in deceased patients. During laboratory test, samples are extreme biohazard risk and should be conducted under maximum containment
Currently, Ebola is mainly being spread in West Africa. So far, about 4,000 to 5,000 people have been infected with Ebola. Ebola is spreading throughout West Africa because of the hygiene and culture in the countries in that region. “To stop the spread of Ebola, the World Health Organization is coordinating the construction and staffing of treatment centers across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.” -New York Times.
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
Ebola is a virus that is transmitted to other individuals through direct contact with blood and body fluids of those infected (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). In the most recent outbreak in 2014, the video Ebola Outbreak (2014) illustrated that the virus quickly became a worldwide epidemic. As the virus became so widespread throughout Africa, Ebola-infected so many people in such a short time frame. While the organization, Doctors without Borders was intimately involved early on, they quickly learned that the manpower they had to offer was not nearly enough. The group identified that they had no way of performing contact tracing, which is a way of following patients that were contaminated and quickly led to additional cases of infection in astronomical numbers. According to the follow-up video, Outbreak (2014) the organization Doctors without Borders communicated to the World Health Organization (WHO) made a valiant
Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a rare deadly infection that is caused by one of five identified strains of the Ebola virus.
Ebola was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River which is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are five identified ebola virus species: Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus); Sudan virus (Sudan ebolavirus); Taï Forest virus (Taï Forest ebolavirus); and the Bundibugyo virus (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). The fifth, Reston virus (Reston ebolavirus), causes disease in nonhuman primates. There have been ebola outbreaks in Africa starting in 1976 and lasting until 2016. These outbreaks have occurred as a result of human to human contact with bodily fluids which happens mostly during funerals of the deceased and population migration between countries. Patterns between outbreaks could potentially
In late 2013, Ebola virus disease (EVD), a deadly and lethal disease, remerged in West Africa spreading to various countries in the region. In humans, the disease is spread through contact with infected bodily fluids leading to haemorrhagic fever (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015). Originating in 1976 in equatorial Africa, past outbreaks with a few hundred cases had been contained within rural, forested areas in Uganda and Congo (Piot, 2012). In 2014, a total of 20, 206 cases and 7,905 deaths were reported to have occurred in up to eight countries worldwide. Of all cases and deaths resulting from the disease, 99.8% occurred in three neighbouring West African countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea (WHO, 2014). With a case fatality rate from about 50% to 90%, and the absence of preventative or curative therapies, the Ebola epidemic has led to overall global alarm and further elucidated existing global health disparities that perpetuated the epidemic with these West African countries.
Although Ebola caught the world’s attention during the 1995 outbreak in Zaire, the first outbreak occurred in 1976. As the chart below displays, 71% of the people infected died as a result of Ebola during this first outbreak (Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 56 (2): 247-270, 1978). With the current outbreak, this ratio has dramatically decreased as a result of scientific research leading to early detection, but the current infected population is more than 20 times the amount of any previous outbreak and this number continues to grow as no vaccine exists to prevent the disease.
More active disease surveillance needs to occur. This means that health care workers should be encouraged to document and report those they think have been exposed and their contacts. In more effectively reporting suspected cases, Ebola response teams are better able to promptly follow-up, transfer to isolation centers, and assess the scope of the epidemic (Matua, Van der Wal, & Locsin,
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
Ebola was first recognized in 1976 as the cause of outbreaks of disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as Zaire) and in Sudan. About three hundred people in each of the two nations were infected with the virus, resulting in a mortality rate of 88% in Zaire, and 53% in Sudan (Bulletin of the WHO 1978). The disease as it was discovered spread through direct contact of unmans to humans, and then thought, from non-human primates to humans. The epidemic was a result of unsafe and unsanitary hospital practices, and non-sterilized medical equipment. The disease was then contained, however sporadic outbreaks of the Zaire and Sudan Ebola subtypes have risen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Uganda, and Sudan; one of the latest outbreaks was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in September of 2007.
“The disease spread like wildfire” (Osterath). As the year 2014 went along more and more people knew that Ebola was as serious of a disease as any. Ebola started in Sierra Leone a country in West Africa. The first case was recorded in March 23, 2014 “It was the largest and longest ebola outbreak in history” (Osterath). The disease itself is relatively old as it was first seen in 1976 in the country of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ebola comes from people eating wild animals like bats and monkeys who are the natural carrier of the disease. The disease is most commonly transmitted by blood and other bodily fluids.The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone was one of the worst outbreaks in history. Ebola killed thousands of people and left the country and its people in a constant state of chaos.
The Ebola virus is a member if the family filoviridae and the order mononegavirales and is the causative agent of the Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. These are enveloped viruses that have mini-genomes consisting of a single RNA molecule of negative or anti-MRNA sense. There are five different Ebola virus genomes (BDBV, EBOV, RESTV, SUDV and TAFV) that differ in sequence and the number and location of gene overlaps.
The Ebola Haemorrahagic Fever, or Ebola for short, was first recognized as a virus in 1967. The first breakout that caused the Ebola virus to be recognized was in Zaire with 318 people infected and 280 killed. There are five subtypes of the Ebola virus, but only four of them affect humans. There are the Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and the Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth one, the Ebola-Reston, only affects nonhuman primates. The Ebola-Zaire was recognized on August 26, 1976 with a 44 year old schoolteacher as the first reported case. The Ebola-Sudan virus was also recognized in 1976 and was thought to be that same as Ebola-Zaire and it is thought to have broken out in a cotton factory in the Sudan. The Ebola-Ivory Coast was
Ebola is a fever-bound viral disease which belongs to the Filoviridae family and is extremely fatal. When it first appeared in 1976, it claimed 90% of its recipients. Ebola originated from Nzara, Sudan and Yambuku of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its name originates from the Ebola River where it was first contracted in Yambuku. Since its initial outbreak and more recent understanding of the disease, medical amends have reduced the mortality rate greatly but it still spans from about 25% to 90% nonetheless. Before its outbreak in the United States in 2014, there were roughly 2300 cases with over 1500 deaths. In 2014, the US had its first outbreak of Ebola with 11 total cases documented where there were 2 deaths. Symptoms include fever,
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.