The Infective Agent: The Ebola Virus

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

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 filovirus Ebola consists of 4 families: Marburg, Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, and Ebola Reston. It is a rather simple virus in structure; each contain a single strand RNA strand and 7 different proteins, 3 which are only slightly understood and 4 that are completely unknown. The virus harms the immune system like the HIV virus, but Ebola causes an explosive attack. The virus is associated with the measles and mumps family, pneumonia viruses, parainfluenza viruses which include colds, and respiratory system related viruses. Unlike common viruses which are ball-shaped, Ebola’s shape represents that similar to a shepherd’s crook, a long snake-like thread that looks like a worm. Because the Ebola virus has a distinct structure, it has been classified as a “thread virus” in its own family of viruses, the filoviruses.

The ebola virus contains RNA which is its genetic blueprint and to replicate it must get ‘help’ by infiltrating host cells. These host cells are protected by a membrane so to enter the cell the virus attaches itself by a glycoprotein that’s sticks out from its surface to the nutrients the cell requires for survival. Macropinocytosis, a non-specific engulfing process, is thought to be the most likely mechanism that the ebola virus uses to gain entry into the host cell. Once inside the cell the RNA of

Ebola is an acute, infectious, hemorrhagic viral fever. It is an enveloped, single stranded, unsegmented, negative sense RNA virus. The genomes (complete set of genes) of the five different Ebola viruses differ in sequence and the number and location of gene overlaps. Ebola virons are filamentous particles that can appear in the shape of a shepherd’s crook, a “6”, a “U”, coiled, toroid or branched. The virons of the disease are roughly 80 nm (nanometers) in width and can be as long as 14,000 nm. Yet the average length of a viron is approximately 920 nm.

The viruses in this family range from 800 to 1000 nanometers in length. Marburg and Ebola are distinguished by their length after purification. Infectivity depends on particular lengths: the longer, the more infectious. All Ebola viruses measure up to about the same length. Each virus particle consists of a helical-coiled tube made of four virally encoded proteins. This strand of RNA is found in an envelope formed from the host's plasma cell membrane, which is now spiked with another carbohydrate-coated viral protein. Differences in gene sequence and very small differences in serological nature are what make each Ebola virus unique from each other, with its own antigenic and biological properties.

It is contracted through broken skin, from an infected person's bodily fluids such as blood, mucus, and vomit. The disease is caused by one of the ebola virus, Ebola, Sudan, Bundibugyo, or the Tai Forest virus. Ebola works by entering a host’s cell and releasing a small viral RNA (Ribonucleic Acid). The RNA hijacks the cell’s DNA (Deoxynucleic Acid) to create more copies of the Ebola virus to infect other cells.

In this essay I will describe how Ebola can infect the human body and produce many replicates of itself.

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.

Others include Triazavirin which is used for the treatment of Lassa fever and influenza, TKM-EBOLA, BCX4430 and the ReEBOV test that is conducted on suspected patients to know the viability of the virus in the blood stream. However, other experimental vaccines are still undergoing medical procedures and testing.

Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses known to mankind! Ebola was originally named Ebola hemorrhagic fever due to its hemorrhagic nature. It is a rare but deadly disease caused by infection from an Ebola virus vector. Ebola can be contracted by humans and nonhumans such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees. The Ebola virus has been detected in blood and many body fluids, including: saliva, mucus, vomit, feces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine, semen, and vaginal fluids (Willett 16). Ebola can linger in your body for several days after recovery in organs such as the testes, eyes and spinal column fluid because it is not easily reached by the immune system. Ebola can also live on the surface of an object for several hours; it can live in

Ebola, once transmitted to a human is referred as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is an uncommon viral infection that deliberately targets every part of the human body with the exception of the skeletal system. When this lethal disease enters the host, it will first cause pain throughout the body and dramatically increase the body's temperature. Next, internal and external bleeding tends to occur, specifically form the face. After that, it will simply destroy the bodily tissue that holds the host's organs together. Aside from this, what the virus actually does and how it is transmitted, little to nothing is known due to the complex structure of the infectious disease, as there are five identified Ebola virus species. Four of the five affect humans

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 contains RNA which needs to bind with a living cell in the body to properly

The challenges facing the development of an antiretroviral drug for Ebola are varied. Effective cleavage sites need to be found in the genome that are conserved and are attackable based on the requirement for the 10-23 DNAzyme to cleave. Beyond these targeting barriers, the dosage of the DNAzyme may depend on the concentration of virions. Furthermore, certain cofactors may increase the effectiveness of the DNAzyme.