preview

The History and Treatments of the Virus Ebola Essay

Decent Essays

I want you to imagine yourself in a room. Fill it with whatever furnishings you like. Are you done? If so, I want you to imagine ten people in this room with you. They can be people you know or completely fictitious. Consider this. What if I told you that a virus could kill nine out of these ten people and there was nothing you could do to stop it? It is a scary thought, but one that carries real substance in various regions of Africa. In this paper, I will inform you on the virus known as “Ebola” which will include its history, inner workings, signs/symptoms, treatment, and prevention. As a precaution, I must warn you that some of this information is not for the faint of heart. In 1976, people in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo …show more content…

(ResearchHistory.org Staff). What most people do not realize is that Ebola is not one virus. Ebola actually has five different subtypes.
1. Ebola-Zaire
2. Ebola-Sudan
3. Ebola-Ivory Coast
4. Ebola-Bundibugyo
5. Ebola-Reston
Of the five subtypes, Ebola-Reston is the only one that does not cause illness in humans. (Kivi). The two first subtypes of Zaire and Sudan, usually occur simultaneously when an outbreak happens. The Ivory Coast subtype originated from Côte d’Ivoire’s Tai forests in Africa. Initially contained to chimpanzees, humans soon got this subtype of Ebola due to improper containment procedures during autopsies of the chimps. The Bundibugyo subtype is the newest one discovered by modern medicine. Named after the Ugandan district from where it was first detected, Ebola-Bundibugyo infected approximately 100 people in its 2007/2008 initial outbreak. Ebola viruses as a whole are incapable of naturally reproducing. By using the host cell to do this function, Ebola eventually ends up destroying the host cell. At a glance, Ebola is hard to diagnose since it exhibits symptoms similar to conditions such as malaria, cholera, and hepatitis. People in the first stages of Ebola will also exhibit influenza like symptoms such as the ones mentioned above on the first page. Use of a laboratory is required for confident diagnosis using on of these different tests. Often characterized primarily by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and

Get Access