The Ebola Virus

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.

The last Ebola outbreak was merely a year ago. This tragedy is fresh; I remember watching the news in fear that Ebola would come to America…until it did. First in Texas then again when two American doctors were flown from Africa to Emory. The idea of Ebola being in my back yard was absolutely terrifying! I couldn’t stop imagining what I’m going to do when I’m a medical student and a biohazard level four patient is in the same hospital as me.

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

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%. Ebola first appeared on July 27, 1976, the very first person to contract the Ebola virus began to show symptoms. Ten days later he was dead. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name., with a total of 602 reported cases and 431 deaths. The first victim to contract Ebola was a cotton factory worker from Nzara, Sudan. Soon after this first man came down with symptoms, so did his co-worker. Then the co-worker 's wife became sick. The outbreak quickly spread to the Sudanese town of Maridi, where there was a hospital. Since no one in the medical field had ever seen this illness before, it took them awhile to realize that it was passed by close contact. By the time the outbreak had subsided in the Sudan, 284 people had become ill, 151 of whom had died.

It is doubtless that Ebola virus has a big impact on human’s health. It kills many people and it is a catastrophe. Although there is some experimental treatments and vaccines, they are not commonly used because they are not approved by any organisation yet. Hope that approved vaccines and treatments in the future can stop ebola virus killing people so that more lives can be saved.

Ebola Virus Disease is previously known as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever which is the most virulent and rapidly widespread epidemic in the history (1) (2). In 1976, the disease was first discovered by Dr. Peter Piotin in two tropical regions, initially in Sudan, and followed by another one in village in Democratic Republic of the Congo near to Ebola River, since then it has been decided to name the fetal disease depending on the place where the disease has been discovered. EVD can affect human and other primates by direct contact with Ebola patient's body fluids, infected primates, or due to sex (1)(3). The symptoms usually appear from 2 to 21 days after the exposure of Ebola virus (3). There is yet no documented medication

Ebola (EBO) virus has made its presence around April and May in 1995 (7). The virus, at first, was medically diagnosed as epidemic dysentery but was suspected by other medical providers to something else (7). The specimens of the patients were then sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in which was diagnosed as Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever, to conform their suspicion (7). This was the first large outbreak of the virus and has since then been a topic of study because of its high mortality.

Ebolavirus is responsible for highly lethal hemorrhagic fever. Like all viruses, it must reproduce its various components and assemble them in cells in order to reproduce infectious virions and perpetuate itself. To generate infectious Ebolavirus, a viral genome-protein complex called the nucleocapsid (NC) must be produced and transported to the cell surface, incorporated into virions, and then released from cells. To further our understanding of the Ebolavirus life cycle, we expressed the various viral proteins in mammalian cells and examined them ultrastructurally and biochemically. Expression of nucleoprotein alone led to the formation of helical tubes, which likely serve as a core for the NC. The matrix protein VP40 was found to be critical

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%. It belongs to the Filoviridae family (filovirus) and is commonly found in several African countries. Ebola was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Republic of the Congo. Since then, outbreaks have appeared irregularly in Africa.

On the 8th of August 2014 the World Health Organisation declared the current outbreak of Ebolavirus to be an international health emergency. This epidemic is the largest ever seen of the disease, and is located in West Africa - particularly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. At present it has led to over 5,000 deaths, with more than 14,000 people having been infected.

Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever is a severe and often deadly illness that occurs in humans and primates. Ebola viruses are members of the filovirus family. The Ebola virus causes the infection of this disease. There are four subtypes of the Ebola virus that have occurred in humans: Ebola Sudan, Ebola Zaire, Ebola Ivory Coast, and Ebola Bundibogyo. There was also a case of Ebola that occurred in a non-human in Reston, Virginia. The Zaire virus was the first Ebola virus discovered and it is also considered the most deadly form of the virus.

The Ebola virus is a pandemic that is of much concern around the world, lately. It was not always a concern of this magnitude. Ebolavirus is the etiologic agent. It is a relatively new virus, introduced just in 1970. It was first discovered in Sudan and Zaire (it was named after the Ebola river is Zaire). The first outbreak occurred in Sudan infecting about 284 people, with a mortality rate of 53% (Waterman, 1999). Just a few months later, the second strain of the Ebola virus (Eboz) became prevalent in Zaire. It had a much higher mortality rate than the strand in Sudan (Ebola-Sudan) of 88% and is still to this day the strain of Ebola with the highest mortality rate. It infected 318 people during the outbreak of Zaire. Two more strains of this deadly virus were discovered in 1989 and in 1994, but the mortality rate of those not as high as their predecessors.

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).

Ebola Virus Disease is often referred to as a virus that causes severe bleeding, organ failure, and can lead to death. It was formally known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. Ebola can cause disease in humans and also in non-human species, such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. Altogether, information about Ebola Virus Disease will include: the background, transmission, symptoms and diagnosis, and treatment and prevention.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a viral disease that was first recorded in 1976, when an outbreak occurred in Yambuku, Zaire, a country that was latter renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo (Walsh, Biek & Real, 2005). During the outbreak 318 cases were recorded of which 280 (88%) died. Later the same year, an outbreak occurred in Sudan where 284 cases were recorded with fatality rate of 53%. The disease and the virus that cause it are named after River Ebola that passes though Yambuku. In the USA, Ebola killed several monkeys