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
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a severe and often fatal disease that can occur in humans and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys and gorillas). The outbreaks of EVD occur predominantly in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests and where contact with animals is more likely to take place. EVD is transmitted into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals (typically nonhuman primates and fruit bats). Once a human is infected it spreads in the community through skin-to-skin contact, direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected individual, or contact with environments that are contaminated with such fluids. The incubation
It is vital to understand deadly viruses and their history in order to prevent future outbreaks. Ebola leaves very few clues after annihilating its victims, so it is incredibly important to analyze those clues. Ebola’s close relationship to monkeys contains key knowledge that could hold the secret to its success. Paying close attention to how Ebola is spreading and mutating could lead researchers to the answer for preventing the contraction of it. Discovering where and how the virus first emerged could lead to Ebola’s end.
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
This book took place in the late 1980's, and it is based upon an outbreak of the Ebola virus in a monkey house located in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Reston, Virginia. The first occurrence of an Ebola-like virus (Marburg) takes place in Kenya and a French expatriate named Charles Monet is the first to die from this disease. His terrible and excruciatingly fatal death is described in the most horrific details by Preston. The hospital staff who treated Monet became infected with the virus as well, traveling fast throughout the hospital and carried on more deaths. The Marburg virus was first to explode in a vaccine factory in Germany in 1967. Over the next several chapters, the book describes outbreaks that occurred four years before Monet’s death. Preston then goes on to explaining how
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.
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
got sick and died. This outbreak infected 318 with a death rate of 93% (Le
Ebola could only be transmitted through humans aswell as animals , it can be transmitted through handiling dead or ill humans aswell as chimpanzens , Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with infected body fluids or tissue.
Ebola virus disease (EBV), or just Ebola, is an acute, often fatal illness, with a case fatality rate of up to 90%. It is one of a number of haemorrhagic fever diseases. Ebola is a single-stranded RNA virus with an unusual, variable-length, branched morphology. The helical capsid is enclosed inside a membrane.. It is one of the world’s most virulent diseases. The Ebola virus is a member of the Filoviridae family. There are 5 known subtypes of Ebola. The infection is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected animals or people. The current hypothesis is that fruit bats are the original host of the virus. Ebola was introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions,
Ebola or also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever in years past is a rare and very deadly disease if left untreated. Ebola is caused by an infection with one of the five Ebola virus strains. Ebola virus disease (EVD) first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, Sudan, and the other in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter occurred in a village near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name (World Health Organization, 2015). The disease is known to affect not only humans but primates as well such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and monkeys. People may contract Ebola in a number of ways through direct contact with bodily fluids including semen, breast milk, vomit, sweat, feces, saliva, urine, and blood.
The Ebola virus disease (EVD) was initially discovered in 1976; which originated from the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). EVD is a severe, often fatal disease affecting humans, and nonhuman primates. Outbreaks occur in Africa affecting mostly the central and western portions of the continent. Formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, but the recent outbreak illustrates viruses’ ability to manifest itself without hemorrhaging. While EVD can be a deadly disease, its spread can be stymied rather quickly with properly trained, and well equipped personnel, effective disposal of dead bodies, and changes in burial practice.
The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has spread across several West African countries, adding a significant medical and financial burden to their healthcare systems and economies. The virus has the potential to spread and efforts to halt its progression are challenged by already struggling economies and healthcare systems. The EVD epidemic started in resource-constrained settings and caused thousands of fatalities. However, given population mobility, international travel and an increasingly globalized economy, the recent EVD epidemic has the potential to reoccur and evolve into a global pandemic [1]. Struggling health systems in West African countries pose a significant challenge to contain future EVD epidemics and to reduce its causes and effects.
The fatal Ebola virus is threatening the lives of West African people. The virus is communicable, able to spread in different ways according to the development and severity. At the low risk point of the virus, Ebola travels through bodily fluids. When evolved, there is a possibility to become air born. Monkeys, pigs, or fruit bats infected with the virus that come in contact with humans start the spreading. There are many health workers being sent to West Africa to teach the people of Liberia’s Foya District, Sierra Leone, and Guinea how to prevent further spreading of Ebola. In addition, isolation units are being built in these locations as an attempt to prevent further spreading of this deadly virus.