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Ebola Virus : A Virus

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Britney Moncada Biology 101, MWF 10am Ebola Paper
Ebola Virus

Over the past couple years, discussion regarding the Ebola virus has gone viral and ignited chaos both domestically and abroad. Ebola is a virus that was discovered back in 1976, but has not failed to grab people’s attention in the recent years (1). It is a very fatal virus that targets the liver and blood vessel lining (10). When Ebola goes untreated it can lead to fatalities or worse off, deaths. There are 5 virus species of Ebola that are linked with infecting not only humans, but also animals (2). In fact, many animals are suspected of being the primary source of the Ebola Virus. African chimps, monkeys and other primates have been thought to transmit the virus to humans (2). It is very easy for scientists who are conducting experiments on infected animals to contract the virus themselves (2). A person could also eat a contaminated animal and not even be aware of the infection the animal contains.
Considering that the Ebola virus originated from Africa, Africa still remains the country with the highest number of infected citizens (2). The spread of Ebola has become particularly problematic in western Africa. The outbreak has killed over 40,000 people in Liberia, over 3,500 in Sierra, and over 2,536 in Guinea. Luckily, casual contact with an infected person is not sufficient enough to contaminate someone. It is through direct contact with body fluids such as the

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