Ebola Essay

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Ebola hemorrahagic fever is a 20 year old virus that, with a mortality rate of 50% to 90%, is one of the world's deadliest viruses. Its causative organism is called Ebola virus. Ebola virus is a member of filoviridae, a family of negative-strained RNA viruses. The filoviridae family consists of five known members, Marburg, Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Reston, and Ebola Tai.

Ebola virus is spread in a number of ways. An outbreak starts when an infected animal or insect, called a vector, transmits the virus to a human. Scientists know that monkeys are both a vector and victim of Ebola, but other vectors are unknown. The natural reservoir for the virus, or organism that is immune to it and carries it is also unknown. A search for the reservoir will take a long time because there are so many possibilities, since Africa is in the tropics. Another way that humans can get Ebola is by eating an infected animal or drinking the milk of an infected animal.

Ebola is spread from human to human by contact with infected blood, infected body fluids, or through sexual contact. Even after a person recovers completely from Ebola, it may stay in the semen for up to seven weeks. In the African outbreaks it has also been transmitted by the reuse of needles because the health care systems are so under financed. Ebola wasn't thought to be an airborne virus, but recent studies by the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and the CDC found that monkeys showed Ebola like symptoms after being exposed to aerosolized Ebola. The studies also found that the virus is many times present in the respiratory systems of Ebola victims. Although the 1989 outbreak in Reston, Virginia wasn't harmful to humans, it was found that droplet and vomit transmission played a major role in spreading the disease through the quarantine facility.

The onset of the Ebola virus is very quick. The incubation period ranges anywhere from two days to twenty-one days. After signs of the virus appear, the victim can die within days, or at the most, a week. There are a few stages after being infected with the virus. The symptoms of the first stage include headaches, fever, muscle pain, fatigue, chills, and loss of appetite. The second stage consists of vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, sore throat, and chest pain. The last stages are very ugly. They consist of severe clotting and hemorrhaging. The clots form throughout the body and shut of blood to many organs, especially the brain, liver, and spleen. These organs that don't receive blood begin to decay. Blood leaks into tissues, fills internal cavities, and stops clotting. Blood leaks through the skin and all other openings. The skin becomes very easily ripped and the victim can bleed profusely just by being touched. Then the body's connective tissues lose their stretchiness and become very spongy. Hemorrhages and blood clots in the brain cause the person's face to become expressionless and frozen. The Ebola virus spreads to all fluids in the body and the victim eventually dies from blood loss and shock. When the victim dies all that is left is a decayed body filled with virus particles.

Ebola virus is diagnosed in only one way. It is diagnosed in specialized laboratory tests on blood specimens. These tests look for Ebola antigens, antibodies, or the isolated virus in the specimens. Since the virus is so deadly, these diagnostic tests are an extreme biohazard and are performed only with extreme caution.

The Ebola virus is the world's third deadliest infectious disease, behind HIV, and rabies, which has a vaccine. The only treatment that can be given to Ebola victims is support. They are usually very dehydrated and need management of fluid and electrolyte balance. Victims may sometimes require IV feeds to replace liquids. Before shock occurs it may be helpful to replace plasma albumin. There is currently no cure or...

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