The Ebola Virus Disease

The pathogen infects many cell types, including monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, hepatocytes, adrenal cortical cells, and epithelial cells. Because of the difficulty of performing clinical studies under outbreak conditions, almost all data on the pathogenesis of Ebola virus diseases have been obtained from laboratory experiments employing mice, guinea pigs, and a variety of nonhuman primates. Patients with Ebola virus disease typically have an abrupt onset of symptoms 8 to 10 days after exposure (range 2 to 21 days). The incubation period for the individual patient depends, in part, upon the type of exposure. Scientist follow guidelines recommended from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the management of patients who are known or suspected to be infected with Ebola virus. These recommendations include isolation of hospitalized patients with known or suspected Ebola virus disease and correct use and removal of recommended personal protective equipment. These patients are highly contaminated if it is true that they have the virus. If you do not follow all rules and guidelines for the safety of your immune system and body, it is possible you can become infected with the Ebola virus as well. (Up To

Ebola is the virus Ebolavirus (EBOV), a viral genus, and the disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF). The virus is named after the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), which is near the site of the first recognized outbreak in 1976 at a mission hospital run by Flemish nuns. It has remained largely obscure until 1989 when several widely publicized outbreaks occurred among

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.

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

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).

Ebola Zaire, arguably the deadliest known virus strain on earth, held a mortality rate up to ninety percent in the past, and is the hottest type of Ebola Viral Diseases. In addition, there are four other types of Ebola species: Ebola Sudan, Ebola Ivory Coast, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, and Ebola Reston. Notably, the earliest of Ebola outbreaks being from Ebola Sudan and Ebola Zaire, both erupted during 1976 in Africa. Previously known as the Ebola haemorrhagic fever, these virus are known to cause tremors and convulsions in its host, resulting in the splattering of blood which is used as its strategy for transmission. Other ways of contracting Ebola is through contact with patient’s bodily fluids and aerosolized secretions in the air. Furthermore, the novel The Hot Zone written by Richard Preston, along with online sources from Gale’s database also indicates that virus outbreaks are partly aided through factors such as close

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.

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

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.

For humans, Ebola is a viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the ebolaviruses. The virus is from the Filoviridae family. “Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest. Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with

To get Ebola, you must directly get infected body fluids (blood, diarrhea, sweat, vomit, urine, semen, breast milk) in your mouth, nose, eyes or through a break in your skin or through sexual contact. That can happen by being splashed with droplets, or through other direct contact, like touching infected body fluids (spread through the airborne route).  So, the health care providers, d the family and friends who in close contact with Ebola patients are at the highest risk of getting sick when they touch or are splashed by infected blood or body fluids from a sick patient.

The symptoms of Ebola are a fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, vomiting, stomach pain, sore throat, diarrhea, weakness and occasionally read eyes, rashes, hiccups, and internal and external bleeding and since these symptoms are not specific to Ebola, it is difficult to clinically diagnose and can often be confused with other viruses. The ELISA testing, short for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and virus isolation are a couple of examples of the types of laboratory testing that can be done to diagnose and Ebola patient. Because of how easily it can be transmitted, it is extremely difficult to treat and there is no approved, official treatment. As of now, there is not standard treatment but usually the patients are given fluids and oxygen, have their blood pressure monitored and other necessary treatment. To prevent transmission and spreading the virus, the doctors use extreme caution and wear head to toe protective gear and isolate the patient. Even though the Ebola virus is common in Africa, there has been no known outbreak in the United States. Another difficulty facing scientists and the treatment for Ebola is that the natural reservoir for the virus unknown. The natural reservoir of a virus is it’s long term host of the

The Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever is a deadly disease caused by five different strains of the Ebola viruses. Whilst the Reston virus only causes illness in animals, the rest cause severe illness in humans and animals (Stanford Edu, 2014). The Ebola virus was discovered in 1976 in the Congolese rainforest in central Africa, by a young Belgian scientist named Peter Piot (BBC News, 2014). Piot discovered the first known strain of Ebola, known as Ebola – Sudan (SUDV). Ebola-Sudan was discovered in the regions of Sudan and Zaire in Africa, with a mortality rate of 53%. A few months late the second strain of Ebola emerged, known as Ebola – Zaire (EBOZ), and had a high mortality rate of 88% (CNN, 2014).

To further understand the severity of this disease we must know where the disease started and how it evolved. According to Ruzik, D. and Singh, S in their book of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (2014), Ebola was first reported in 1976 when the first outbreak began, in the regions of Southern Sudan and Northern Zaire. Originally the cause of the outbreaks were thought to be specifically fruit but conflicting evidence supposes that other primary carriers of Ebola were monkeys and a small variety of other non-domesticated wild animals, commonly known as “bush meat”. (pg.445-446). The spread of this virus resulted when these infected animals were hunted as game and distributed to meat markets along the regions. It can then be assumed that the people who ate those contaminated meats got infected and an epidemic soon began.

Ebola Virus Disease was given it 's name from the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The disease first appeared in 1976 in two outbreaks occurring simultaneously. One occurred in South Sudan and the other in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the Democratic Republic of Congo it took place in a village near the Ebola River, hence its name. The most current outbreak in occurring in West Africa. Reports say that it is the most complex and largest outbreak since it first appeared. This current outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease has had more deaths than all other appearances of the disease combined. The most effected countries include Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These countries have weakened health systems and very limited resources. With limited resources it makes it extremely difficult to stop the spread of such diseases. Therefore, Ebola appears in mainly in underdeveloped counties with limited resources and weak health systems.