Ebola Virus

While Ebola is not an airborne virus, it can be transmitted through direct contact with an infected person’s fluids, such as blood, urine, vomit, sweat, semen and sexual contact (Nevins, 2014). With these deadly symptoms and ease of transmission, the Ebola virus can quickly wipe out an entire community. Yet, scientists have found that the severity of the disease in humans varies widely, from rapid fatality to mild illness or even asymptomatic response, further complicating the ability to quickly identify infected patients and reduce the possibility of transmission (Kolata, 2014). Moreover, the virus has different strains and mutates according to the specific environmental conditions in which it exists (Peters et al., 1991).

The resulting symptoms are bleeding, especially in the nose, abdomen, and pericardium. Capillary leakage appears to lead to loss of intravascular volume, bleeding, shock and the acute respiratory disorder seen in fatal cases. Patients basically die of intractable shock. Those with severe illness often have fevers and are delirious, combative and difficult to control.Some victims of the Ebola virus, one out of ten people infected, survive the virus's deadly operations. Due to its self-limiting nature, the Ebola virus is known to sometimes die out within a person before killing the host organism. Just like the history of wars and other social epidemics, the Ebola outbreaks need to be remembered and learned from.

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

Ebola Virus is a serious transmitted disease by both humans and animals. The disease first appeared in 1976 in 2 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 virus received its name. Ebola Virus is a member of the negative stranded RNA viruses known as filoviruses. There are currently, five different strains of the Ebola Virus including, Zaire (EBOV), Sudan (SUDV), Bundibuguyo (BDBV), Taï Forest (TAFV) and Reston (RESTV). Each of the strains of the virus are very closely related including Reston which only effects animals. Yet, Ebola Zaire is the most highly virulent subtype, often leading to death. All of the different types of the virus are extremely dangerous and often cause death if untreated.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a virus transmitted from humans or animals through body fluids. It is transmitted by means of contact with infected blood, mucous membranes, semen and other secretions, therefore being skin lesions and sexual contact significant ways of transmission (Boulton, 2014). As a transmittable disease, progression of the virus had been thought to be linked to higher probabilities of transmission, and therefore safety of persons in contact with infected patients was in question (Yamin et al., 2015). A study conducted in Liberia in 2014 proved such hypothesis to be true and concluded that prompt and accurate isolation of infected patients was a safe method

The fight for who can proceed in experiments to find the cure for Ebola is on. In the experiments done by the lab scientists from, Therapeutic Intervention of Ebola Virus Infection in Rhesus Macaques with the MB-003 Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail persisted in a slight solution that resulted a minor success, but a success that is well needed. On the other hand, Dr. Lipstich feels that the results may not be so worth it considering that high risk of the scientists themselves catching the deadly virus. The virus held in its early stages in West Africa, where the first host was a little boy that had died in pain. From then the virus spread abruptly from one host to another. As American scientists try to search for the cure in other diseases such as fatal fibrosis, they realized once the damage was done that there was a deadlier, possibly airborne

The Ebola epidemic is a viral disease that spreads very quickly and has high mortality rate. The outbreak is actually an international disaster at the moment and has created a lot of tension worldwide (Spark, 2015). Presently the epidemic is ongoing in most of West Africa countries with Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea being the most badly hit. The epidemic has been reported in Nigeria, Mali, United States, Senegal and Spain too (World Bank, 2015). However, the epidemic has been maintained in most of the countries except in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea where Ebola is yet to be controlled. It is worth noting that other countries especially African countries are at a high risk of reporting cases of Ebola making governments from all parts of the world to remain alert (The World Bank, 2014).

My name is Drishna Perumal and I attend Olentangy Orange High School, class of 2016. After high school I hope to go to medical school and graduate with a MD-PhD and pursue my career goals as a physician. I am a rising senior in high school who is aspiring to be a medical professional that helps people of all walks to be treated to a healthier and better lifestyle. I chose the Ebola virus for my project because it’s one of the most deadly diseases known to man that still has an impact on our civilization now. In addition, the amount of damage this microscopic organism can cause in a short amount of time is truly fascinating.

The recent outbreak of Ebola has promoted international involvement from many organizations and governments. Most of these efforts have been focused on short-term solutions to control the disease. However, while many organizations provided medical workers, aid, and supplies to combat Ebola, their actions were insufficient to stop the spread of disease. There remains a multitude of problems in Sub-Saharan Africa, including lack of locally trained medical professionals and poor coordination between global health organizations and governments. Ultimately, these issues must be addressed in order to stop the spread of Ebola as well as other infectious diseases.

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.

Ebola, also called Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, is a virus that can result in severe bleeding, organ failure, and death. When the Ebola virus infiltrates the body, it gets into the body cells and duplicates itself producing a protein called ebolavirus glycoprotein. Consequently, ebolavirus glycoprotein increases permeability of the blood vessels which causes blood to leak out of the blood vessels. Dangerously, the Ebola virus blocks out the white blood cells, which are the cells that fight germs and viruses entering into the body. This virus was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River, which is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A genetic analysis concluded that Ebola was started by a single infected person. For example, the most

EHV is a severe and often fatal disease caused by the ebolavirus. It has an incubation period of 2 days to 3 weeks, during which the patient is not contagious. The patient will become contagious when the first symptoms appear, namely fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headaches, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, decreased kidney and liver function, and finally, internal and external bleeding. The virus can be from wild animals, as well as through human to human interaction. To be specific, contact with bodily fluids (such as blood, urine and feces) is required for transmission (World Health Organization (WHO) Media Centre, 2014). The average fatality rate of EHV through history has been roughly 50%, but it varies greatly from outbreak to outbreak. In this most recent outbreak, there have been 4033 deaths out of 4656 laboratory confirmed cases, for a fatality rate of 86.6%. This includes 2 cases in the United States (US), one of which ended with the patient from Dallas, Texas, succumbing to the disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). At the moment, there is no licensed and regulated treatment or vaccine for the diseases. However, several treatments (blood, immunological and drug) and 2 vaccines are undergoing clinical trials as the world’s medical community rushes to find a way to end and prevent the epidemic. Currently, the only course of action for patients with EHV is hydration, and symptom-based treatment (World

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,

EBOV (Ebola virus) is an enveloped RNA virus belonging to the family Filoviridae; under the electron microscope, it appears filamentous (Strong, et al. 2006). The genus Ebolavirus comprises of five EBOVs; EBOV being identified as the causative agent of the recent outbreak (Broadhurst, Brooks & Pollock, 2016). Ebola virus disease is caused by three Ebolaviruses – EBOV included. In humans, the disease is clinically characterized by severe hemorrhagic fever with a 90% fatality rate. Since its first outbreak (largely in Zaire and Sudan) in the 1970s, two more outbreaks have been

Since there is no  preventative treatment for the Ebola virus currently and treatment is only experimental, we have to take careful measures in