History Of Ebola

Historically Ebola has had a serious impact on human health and hygiene and still does due to the fact of no vaccine or treatment being discovered, but thanks to improvements in scientific and medical knowledge the virus itself is now controllable.

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.

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.

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.

In the year 1976, Ebola climbed out of its unknown hiding place, and caused the death of 340 people. Fear gripped the victims' faces, and uncertainty tortured their minds. The people of Zaire waited outside clinics, churches and in their homes for a treatment of the horrible disease, but there was no cure. They were forced to watch people die, hoping that they would be saved from the violent death of the Ebola virus. From the year of 1976 to the present date of 1996, researchers have searched for origin and cure of the virus. Scientist have carried out numerous studies and investigations, but no one has been able to find the right explanations.

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.

Jeffery Reid Instructor: Mrs. McCree Course: Comm 2200 Sec # 2200-048 Date: 10/26/2014 Speech title: Ebola: The New Plague Specific Purpose: My purpose for this speech is to inform my audience about Ebola in West Africa and show parallelism between the reception of aid and treatment between underdeveloped and developed countries. Central Idea Statement: My Central ideas will focus on the history of the disease, what exactly the disease is, and the affects the illness has had on West Africa vs. developed countries like The United States. Introduction I. Attention: The Ebola virus is an epidemic that is a global threat to not only our health but to life, as we know it, which in turn, if left unchecked could eventually become a plague on humanity.

Ebola is the global killer and communicable disease of the world with 69 % case fatality rate, whereas only Zaire strain virus has 90% case fatality rate. It attacks Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, especially the west African’s region as

Every illness begins at a single source that can rapidly spread to susceptible individuals who are completely unaware of what is occurring before them. This infection sparks a chain of events that can quickly transform a small illness into an epidemic. On March 25, 2014 the World Health Organization(WHO) announced the outbreak of a new strain of the Ebola virus disease with 86 suspected cases[15]. From this point onward, constant updates have been documented, and until the end of November 2014 the condition grew in number and prevalence[7]. With additional efforts and protocols instituted by organizations such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus began to fall until the present day. Fortunately, a pharmaceutical company

Discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River, Ebola’s first two outbreaks in Sudan and Zaire killed the majority, over half, of the people infected with the disease. Although the natural host reservoir of Ebola has yet to be found, the virus is believed to be animal-borne. A person gets Ebola from a wild animal and then is spread throughout the human population through person-to-person transmission. Healthcare workers providing aide for Ebola victims know that they have a high possibility of contracting the disease because they are exposed to infected blood and body fluids. It could take from two to twenty-one days for the Ebola Virus to show symptoms in humans, and

This viral disease is very rare which causes severe bleeding and 90 percent in deaths of those who are infected. Ebola showed up without warning in the late 2000 in the northern district of Gulu in Uganda, Africa. Health care workers separated patients from others so they wouldn’t spread and get worse. There are 40 people that died in the first wave of the epidemic. The virus killed 224 people then out of nowhere it stopped and seems to have gone back into the jungle, this was in February 2001. There is a lot we still don’t know about the Ebola virus but the scientists began to piece of the things they don’t know together. The virus was discovered in the Democratic Republican of Congo in 1976. There are four different types of Ebola viruses. They are all named from where they are discovered at: Ebola – Zaire, Ebola – Sudan, Ebola – Ivory Coast, and Ebola – Reston. In 1989, the United States the Ebola – Reston virus was found in Reston, Virginia. There were sick monkeys imported from Philipines to a research lab. Some lab workers showed signs of the virus in the blood but didn’t become ill. Still don’t know where the virus is coming frombut think it resides in rain forests of Africa and Asia. The Ebola virus might as well be animal borne passed to primates like monkeys and apes and humans by another

The ebola virus disease is a deathly illness first discovered in the late twentieth century. This disease is viral, spreading from human to human through any bodily fluid contact. Due to this process infection, it is easy enough to become unprotected and cause a mass-distribution of the disease among the human populace. Regretfully, this disease had gone undetected within West Africa until March of 2014, when it had branched off from just the one country Guinea to four of its surrounding countries. This probes as one of the world’s newest health issues since there is no vaccine to prevent this disease from sweeping across the rest of nation and infecting us all.

Peters, C.J., & LeDuc, J.W. (2015). An introduction to ebola: The virus and the disease. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 212(9). Retrieved from

Recently in 2014, there was a major outbreak from Ebola. The virus first transmitted to humans from wild animals and spread even more to the human race by close contact. The number cases for this current year so far is 9,936; 4,877 have been killed by this disease. This sickness can be treatable, early care is very important with rehydration, symptomatic treatment can improve survival rates. Ebola has been slowly dying down but has not totally been wiped out.

Ebola is a virus that was discovered in 1976, but has not failed to grab people’s attention because of recent outbreaks (1). It is often a fatal viral infection that targets the liver and blood vessel lining (10). When Ebola goes untreated it can lead to fatalities. There are 5 viral species of Ebola that are linked with infecting not only humans, but also animals (2). Many animals, such as African chimps, monkeys and other primates, are suspected of being the primary source of the Ebola virus. It is very easy for scientists conducting experiments on infected animals to contract the virus themselves (2). A person could also eat a contaminated animal and not be aware of the infection the animal contains.