What Is Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Essay

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What is Ebola hemorrhagic fever?

Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) is a severe, often-fatal disease in humans

and nonhuman primates (monkeys and chimpanzees) that has appeared

sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976.

The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) in Africa, where it was

first recognized. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses

called the Filoviridae. Three of the four subtypes of Ebola virus identified

so far have caused disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, and

Ebola-Ivory Coast. The fourth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman

primates, but not in humans.

Where is Ebola virus found in nature?

The exact origin, locations, and natural habitat (known as the

"natural reservoir") of Ebola virus remain unknown. However, on the basis

of available evidence and the nature of similar viruses, researchers believe that

the virus is zoonotic (animal-borne) and is normally maintained in an animal host

that is native to the African continent. A similar host is probably

associated with the Ebola-Reston virus subtype isolated from infected

cynomolgous monkeys that were imported to the United States and Italy from

the Philippines. The virus is not known to be native to other continents, such as North America.

Where do cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever occur?

Confirmed cases of Ebola HF have been reported in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo, Gabon, Sudan, and the Ivory Coast. An individual with

serologic evidence of infection but showing no apparent illness has been

reported in Liberia, and a laboratory worker in England became ill as a result

of an accidental needle-stick. No case of the disease in humans has

ever been reported in the United States. Ebola-Reston virus caused severe

illness and death in monkeys imported to research facilities in the United

States and Italy from the Philippines; during these outbreaks, several research

workers became infected with the virus, but did not become ill. Ebola HF typically appears in sporadic outbreaks, usually spread within a health-care setting (a situation known as amplification). It is likely that

sporadic, isolated cases occur as well, but go unrecognized.

How is Ebola virus spread?

Infection with Ebola virus in humans is incidental -- humans do not "carry"

the virus. Because the natural reservoir of the virus is unknown, the manner

in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak has

not been determined. However, researchers have hypothesized that the first

patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal. After the first case-patient in an outbreak

setting (often called the index case) is infected, the virus can be transmitted in several ways. People can

be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. This is why the virus has often been spread through the families and friends of infected persons: in the course of

feeding, holding, or otherwise caring for them, family members and friends would come into close contact with such secretions. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions. Nosocomial transmission frequently has been associated with outbreaks of Ebola HF. Nosocomial spread includes both types of transmission described

above, but the term is used to describe the spread of disease in a health-care setting such as a clinic or hospital. In African health-care facilities, patients are often cared for without the use of a mask, gown, or

gloves, and exposure to the virus has occurred when health care workers treated individuals with Ebola HF without wearing these types of protective clothing. In addition, when needles or syringes are used, they may not be of the disposable type, or may not have been sterilized, but only rinsed before re-insertion into multi-use vials of medicine. If needles or syringes become contaminated with virus and are then reused, numbers of people can become infected. The Ebola-Reston virus subtype, which was first recognized in a primate research facility in Virginia, may have been transmitted from monkey to monkey through the air in the facility. While all Ebola virus subtypes have displayed the ability to be spread through airborne particles (aerosols) under research conditions, this type of spread has not been documented among humans in a real-world setting, such as a hospital or household.

What are the symptoms of Ebola hemorrhagic fever?

The signs and symptoms of Ebola HF are not the same for all patients. The

table below outlines symptoms of the disease, according to the frequency with

which they have been reported in known cases.

Time Frame Symptoms that occur in most Ebola patients Symptoms that

occur

in some Ebola patients

Within a few days of becoming infected with the...

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