The Ebola Virus
INTRODUCTION
The most deadly killers on this earth are too small to see with the naked eye. These microscopic predators are viruses. In my report, I will answer many basic questions concerning one of the fastest killing viruses, the
Ebola virus. Questions such as "How does it infect its victims?", "How are
Ebola victims treated?", "How are Ebola outbreaks controlled?" and many others related to this deadly virus.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Ebola virus is a member of the negative stranded RNA viruses known as filoviruses. There are four different strains of the Ebola virus - Zaire
(EBOZ), Sudan (EBOS), Tai (EBOT) and Reston (EBOR). They are very similar except for small serological differences and gene sequence
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It is also spread through contact with the patients skin which carries the virus. Spread can be accomplish either by person to person transmission, needle transmission or through sexual contact. Person to person transmission occurs when people have direct contact with Ebola patients and do not have suitable protection. Family members and doctors who contract the virus usually obtain it from this type of transmission. Needle transmission occurs when needles, which have been used on
Ebola patients, are reused. This happens frequently in developing countries such as Zaire and Sudan because the heath care is underfinanced. A lucky person who has recovered from the Ebola virus can also infect another person though sexual contact. This is because the person may still carry the virus in his/her genital. A fourth method of transmission is airborne transmission. This type is not proven 100% although there have been several experiments done to prove that this type of transmission is highly possible. The time between the invasion of Ebola and the appearance of its symptoms (incubation period) is 2-21 days. HOW IT IS DIAGNOSED
Diagnosing the Ebola virus may take up to 10 days. The methods used to detect the virus are very slow, compared to how rapid Ebola can kill its victims. Blood or
fast as HIV. "Ebola does in ten days what it takes HIV ten years to accomplish,"
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
HIV and AIDS have affected millions of people throughout the world. Since 1981, there have been 25 million deaths due to AIDS involving men, women, and children. Presently there are 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS around the world and two million die each year from AIDS related illnesses. The Center for Disease Control estimates that one-third of the one million Americans living with HIV are not aware that they have it. The earliest known case of HIV was in 1959. It was discovered in a blood sample from a man in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Looking further into the genetics of this blood sample researchers suggested that it had originated from a virus going back to the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. In 1999,
Revelation. The word itself is kind of scary. The book of Revelation was written in 95 AD by the apostle John. John was writing to seven different churches in western Asia Minor, Laodicea, Philidelphia, Sardis, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. The theme of Revelation is encouragement for believers to stand strong through persecution and also shows believers how the return of Christ will look. The book of Revelation goes into great detail on how the coming of Christ will look and for some that is a frightening thing to even think about but for Believers it should be an encouragement showing that the end will come, so get up and go share Jesus' name.
There were some Jewish families that were wealthy throughout Europe, however most were poor. Many Jews worked as farmers, tailors, factory hands, accountants, seamstresses, doctors, teachers and small business owners. Many children ended their schooling early to work in craft or trade. Others continued their education at a university level. With the rise of the Nazis to power, Jews became potential victims and their lives would be changed forever.
Doctors, as well as medical researchers, have often stated that there exist similarities as well as difference between HIV Aids and Ebola. The most notable similarity is that the two are viral conditions. Consequently, they can be compared based on characteristics common to viral diseases. The two spread through contract with body fluids of infected persons. Ebola and HIV are incurable illnesses that result in widespread stigma. However, both differ greatly despite the fact that they are virally transmitted. Their emergence is traced to the African continent (Jin, 2015). If left untreated, they turn out to be fatal. Governmental authorities, as well as non-governmental institution, have made tremendous efforts in curbing the spread of these killer diseases all over the world.
The Yellow Fever virus came from Central or East Africa. With transmission between primates and humans, the virus has been spread from there to West Africa. The virus was probably brought to the Americas with the slave trade ships from 1492 after the first European exploration. The first case of Yellow fever was recorded in Mexico by Spanish colonists in 1648. Consequently, the virus started to spread also in North America. In Philadelphia in 1793, more than the 9% of the population die. The American government had to escape from the city that was the temporary capital. One of the most famous outbreaks happen in Europe in Barcelona in 1821.How explains the article "The 'plague' of Barcelona. Yellow Fever epidemic of 1821", the outbreak of
In 2014 the United States was hit with a force far more deadly and dangerous than many threats received. The ebola virus took the world by storm after it was carried to the United States and spread by people who had visited West Africa. This virus was all the more deadly as it often took hours for any symptoms to occur. In this time the Center for Disease Control spent much time and many resources looking for answers to the many questions they had. Under the time constraint and scrutinizing public, they had to determine what ebola was, what it did and its effects on the general public.
Before January ventures off in search for a wife, he decides to speak to his friends and tells him his wishes, he states, “But o thyng warne I yow, my freendes deere/ I wol moon oold wyf han in no manere/ She shal nat passe twenty yeer, certayn/ Oold fissh and yong flessh wolde I have ful fayn,” (lines 1415-18). He bluntly states that he desires a very young wife, no more than twenty, and this is a mistake because he fails to consider that marriage is a huge commitment therefore, it should be based off of love and not desire. This quote indicates how Januarie blindly believes that he can use May’s youth and beauty to his own advantage when in fact, May will eventually uses her age to exploit Januarie in the tale. Furthermore, January embarks
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
Since there is no preventative treatment for the Ebola virus currently and treatment is only experimental, we have to take careful measures in
Severe Acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a respiratory illness that had recently been reported in Asia, North America, and Europe. SARS was first reported is Asia in February of 2003, over the next few months it spread to more than a dozen countries. By late July 2003, no new cases were being reported and the global outbreak was declared over by the World Health Organization. During this time period 8,098 people worldwide became infected with SARS and out of these 774 died. In the United States a total of 192 SARS cases had been reported, including 159 suspect and 33 probable cases. Of the probable only 8 had laboratory evidence of SARS-CoV infection. Luckily, no SARS relate deaths occurred in the US.
Diagnosis of the Ebola virus is very hard to do. You need a specialized laboratory to perform the blood test. These laboratories are not available commercially, so basically only the government can do it. The lab is an extreme bio hazard. It is conducted under maximum containment conditions.
HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS. A member of a group of viruses called retroviruses, HIV infects human cells and uses the energy and nutrients provided by those cells to grow and reproduce. AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a disease in which the body's immune system breaks down and is unable to fight off certain infections, known as "opportunistic infections," and other illnesses that take advantage of a weakened immune system. When a person is infected with HIV, the virus enters the body and lives and multiplies primarily in the white blood cells. These are the immune cells that normally protect us from disease.
HIV, or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus which damages and kills cells of the immune system. It attacks the T-cells, key cells of the immune system, and uses them to make copies of itself. After being infected with the virus it progressively interferes and eventually destroys the immune system's ability to fight the anti-genes. HIV may develop into the syndrome AIDS, the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV is an STD - a sexually transmitted disease - and therefore most commonly it is spread through sexual contact, and the virus mainly enters the body through the penis, mouth, lining of the vagina or vulva during sexual activity. HIV can also be spread through sharing syringes or needles with someone who is infected with the