"The only sound is a choking in his throat as he continues to vomit while unconscious. Then comes a sound like a bed sheet being torn in half, which is the sound of his bowels opening at the sphincter and venting blood. The blood is mixed with his intestinal lining. He has sloughed off his gut. The lining of his intestines have come off and are being expelled along with huge amounts of blood" (Preston 17).
Ebola, a virus which acquires its name from the Ebola River (located in Zaire, Africa), first emerged in September 1976, when it erupted simultaneously in 55 villages near the headwaters of the river. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and resulted in the deaths of nine out of every ten victims. Although it originated over 20 years ago, it still remains as a fear among African citizens, where the virus has reappeared occasionally in parts of the continent. In fact, and outbreak of the Ebola virus has been reported in Kampala, Uganda just recently, and is still a problem to this very day. Ebola causes severe viral hemorrhagic fevers in humans and monkeys, and has a 90 % fatality rate. Though there is no cure for the disease, researchers have found limited medical possibilities to help prevent one from catching this horrible virus.
The Ebola virus can be passed from one person into another by bodily contact. Airborne transmission of Ebola has not yet been confirmed, as there is no substantial evidence of this occurring. Researchers are still to this day observing the ways of transmission of this virus from one person to the next. In previous outbreaks, this infection has often occurred among hospital care workers or family members who were caring for an ill or dead person infected with the virus. Blood and body fluids contain large amounts of virus, thus transmission of the virus has also occurred as a result of hypodermic needles being reused in the treatment of patients. Under-financed health care facilities in countries such as Zaire, Gabon, and Sudan find reusing needles a common practice. This contributes the vast amount of fatalities of this virus in these cities.
The general geographic region that has been most affected by the different strains of the Ebola virus is Central Africa, namely the cities of Zaire, Sudan, and Gabon. The first known occurrence of Ebola was found in a man by the name of Charles Monet, who had currently taken a trip...
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...ving things carry viruses in their cells. Even fungi and bacteria and inhabited by viruses and are occasionally destroyed by them. A virus makes copies of itself in a cell until eventually the cell gets pigged with virus and pops and the viruses spill out of the broken cell. If enough cells are destroyed, such as they do in the case of Ebola, the host dies. A virus does not "want" to kill its host. That is not in the best interest of the virus, because then the virus may also die, unless it can jump fast enough out of the dying host into a new host.
Ebola Zaire, a type of strain of Ebola, attacks every organ and tissue in the human body except skeletal muscle and bone. Small blood clots begin to appear in the bloodstream. The blood then thickens and slows, and the clots fit together in a mosaic. The mosaic thickens and throws more clots and the clots drift through the bloodstream into the small capillaries, where they get stuck. This shuts off the blood supply to various parts of the body, causing dead spots to appear in the brain, liver, kidneys, lings, intestines, and all through the skin.
Works Cited
Preston, Richard. The Hot Zone. New York: Random, 1994.
This virus searches for a new vulnerable host in order to survive and carry the disease to the next victim. The critical aspect around the spread of a virus is how drastically the reproduction process occurs. Without being controlled, the contamination throughout any species causes the spread to take place in a toxic way, “On day one, there were two people. And then, four, and then, sixteen. In three months, it’s a billion.
Bloodborne pathogens are viruses that deteriorate cells within the body. A virus is a submicroscopic parasitic organism that feeds on cells. Viruses are dependent on cells for their nutrients so the virus survive and reproduce. Every virus consists of either deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA). A virus can contain a strand of one or the other, but not both. This RNA or DNA is contained within a protein shell for protection. A virus is a parasite that is dependent upon cells for metabolic and reproductive requirements. By using the cell the virus makes the host very ill by redirecting cellular activity to make more viruses.
Lots of reason has been observed of causing the incidence of Ebola. One of the main reasons is human contact with the fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family (WHO Media Centre, 2014), which are Ebola
The Ebola Virus is an extremely deadly virus found in Africa. There have been multiple outbreaks across Africa and one in the United States. The Ebola virus basically causes uncontrollable bleeding externally and internally. Then your organs become liquefied. This usually results in death(www.encyclopedia.com). The following report contains info on the characteristics and history of the Ebola Virus.
Ebola can be spread in a number of ways. Ebola reproduction in infected cells takes about eight hours. Hundreds to thousands of new virus cells are then released during periods of a few hours to a few days. In most outbreaks, transmission from patient to patient within hospitals has been associated within the reuse of needles and syringes. High rates of transmission in outbreaks have occurred from patients to family members who provide nursing care without barriers to prevent exposure to blood, other body fluids such as, vomit, urine and feces. Risk for transmitting the infection appears to be highest during the later stages of illness. Those symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, shock, and frequently hemorrhaging. Even a person who has recovered from the symptoms of the illness may have the virus present in the genital secretions for a short time after. This makes it possible for the virus to be spread by sexual activity. Complete recovery is reached only when none virus’s cells are left in any body fluids. This is quite rare.
In 1976 the first two Ebola outbreaks were recorded. In Zaire and western Sudan five hundred and fifty people reported the horrible disease. Of the five hundred and fifty reported three hundred and forty innocent people died. Again in 1995 Ebola reportedly broke out in Zaire, this time infecting over two hundred and killing one hundred and sixty. (Bib4, Musilam, 1)
In the year 1976, Ebola outbreaks occurred for the first time in rural villages, which are close to tropical forests of Central Africa, but the first ever diagnosed case was reported in the last quarter of the year 2013 in Guinea, which is in close proximity with Liberia and Sierra Leone(Team, 2014). The knowledge of the viral transmission from any animal species to human beings is missing. WHO, an active entity of the UN, is accountable of coordinating international action in any severe disease emergencies like this as WHO has been successful in eliminating disease of high severity like small pox. The question that disturbs us is how did this ailment go horribly out of control? I believe that Ebola has exposed the lack of communication between
Ebola is the worst and most feared disease known to the world and there is no vaccine or cure for it. Even though there are so many countries that have so many people either affected or dying of the disease, no cure has been figured out. The worst possible and most dangerous symptoms come with being infected with Ebola. The only way right now to help Ebola is to stop the spreading of the disease. The world needs to bring together their best scientists and find a cure or at least a vaccine for this horrible disease.
Ebola is a critical disease that has recently spread the country of West Africa. We have also had a few cases in the United States. Ebola is a deadly disease that cannot be contained. As of November 20, 2014 the total number of cases in West Africa is 15,113 (1). There have been a total of 5,406 deaths in the West African outbreak (1). This outbreak has lasted from March 1st, 2014 until the present (1). Scientists across the globe have been working hardly to find a cure for this raging epidemic and this deadly disease. They attempted to make a serum, by which is called ZMapp (15). This serum is made out of engineered antibodies that are used to attempt to fight off the disease without being altered by the disease (15). Scientists have
Ebola is a deadly disease. Ebola, which was previously known as “Ebola hemorrhagic fever”, is caused by a virus. Those who are infected with the virus experience pain throughout the body, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and unexplained hemorrhaging (CDC [Signs and Symptoms]). Ebola is very dangerous and is oftentimes deadly. Fatality rates from Ebola range from 25-90% in various outbreaks, however the average fatality rate is 50% (“Ebola Virus Disease”). Because of the horrifying symptoms and fatality rates associated with the disease many people are concerned with contracting Ebola. However, cases of Ebola are incredibly rare. The disease can only be transmitted through direct contact via broken skin or mucous
what is ebola you may ask, Ebola is a disease that has been growing across Africa. Ebola is an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids by a filovirus ( Ebola virus ), whose normal host species is unknown according to Ebola, previously known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus species. Ebola can cause disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).Ebola is caused by infection with a virus
Ebola is caught into the human population through close contact with the blood, organs or other infected bodily fluids/parts of animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys found dead or ill. Ebola then spreads through human to human transmission via direct contact with blood, secretions to other bodily fluids of infected people, and surfaces like bedding, clothing of the infected can also transmit the
Commonly called Ebola, Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever is an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and
There are five different strains of the disease, however; only four can spread to humans. The first reported case of Ebola was in 1976. It occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was named after the Ebola River. Researchers strongly believe that the virus is animal borne, but no one really knows. When Ebola invades a human being, it incubates for a period of seven to ten days on average, and then explodes with catastrophic force (Hammer 1). “It becomes an arms race,” says the investigating team’s Brian Bird, veterinary medical officer and an expert in pathogens at the CDC. “The virus wants to make new copies of itself, and the human body wants to stop it from doing so. Most of the time, the virus wins” (Hammer 1). Infected cells begin producing massive amounts of cytokine, tiny protein molecules that are extensively used in intercellular communication. This overproduction of cytokine wreaks havoc on the immune system and disrupts the normal behavior of the liver, kidneys, respiratory system, skin and blood. In extreme cases, small clots form everywhere, a process known as disseminated intravascular coagulation, followed by hemorrhaging. Blood fills the intestines, the digestive tract and the bladder, spilling out of the nose, eyes and mouth. Death occurs within a week (Hammer
The disease can be found in humans and non-human primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees). Ebola is caused by infection with a virus of Filoviridae genus Ebolavirus. (About Ebola Virus Disease, 2015)