Lassa Fever is an acute viral disease found in a family of viruses called Arenaviridae. All Arenaviridae are spread through human contact with a rodent host and their viral particles are contained in a fat membrane and acquire ribosomes from their host cells (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Lassa Fever was first described in Sierra Leone in the 1950's, however, the virus responsible for the illness was not identified as Lassa Fever until two nurses from Nigeria died of it in 1969 (Ogbu, O., Ajuluchukwa, E., & Uneke, C. J., 2007).
Lassa Fever is spread by the multimammate rat, Mastomys natalensis, a very common rodent in central, east and West Africa and tends to live near humans due to easy access of food (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). The virus can be spread from rat-to-human, most often fecal-oral, or by inhaling contaminated air into the respiratory system or from person-to-person through body fluids (Ogbu, O., et al, 2007). The disease is asymptomatic or mild in 80% of cases, however, the remaining 20% develop the disease in systems throughout the body after an incubation period of 6-21 days (Heymann, D. L., 2008). The illness begins gradually with generic systems such as fever, sore throat, headache, cough, nausea, vomiting, headache, chest pain, abdominal pair and body aches and progresses through several systems in the body (Heymann, D. L., 2008). The disease attacks the circulatory system by multiplying viral particles in the blood vessels causing capillary lesions leading to hemorrhaging in other parts of the body including the brain, digestive system, heart and lungs. (Ogbu, O., et al, 2007). The cardiovascular system can be affected as well with most cases showing an abnormal EKG reading with changes in the T-wave and ST-segment, pericarditis, tachycardia or bradycardia, hypertension or hypotension (Magill, A. J., Ryan, E. T., Hill, D., 2013 & Soloman, T., 2013; Ogbu, O., et al, 2007). The respiratory symptoms include cough, shortness of breath and bronchitis (Ogbu, O., et al, 2007). The neurological symptoms can vary from fine tremors and confusion to much more serious symptoms such as seizures and encephalopathy (Magill, A. J., et al, 2013).
Lassa Fever found in several West African countries and is considered endemic in Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone with cases also found in Mali, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso with blood work showing evidence of infection in Togo and Benin (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).
14) Davis, Charles, and Mary Nettleman, eds. "Typhus (Endemic, Murine, Epidemic)." medicinenet.com. N.p.. Web. 12 Mar 2014. .
This extremely pathogenic zoonotic virus is now understood to travel from bat species, to equine intermediate hosts, to humans.[8, 10] The Hendra virus is listed as a Bio-Safety Level (BSL)-4, and can only be studied at a few adequately equipped laboratories worldwide due to its virulence.[1, 2] Case fatality rates
The medical field is a vast land of beauty but with great beauty comes immense horror. There are many deadly viruses and diseases found in the medical field. In the novel, The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, the author discusses the many deadly viruses found in the field. The viruses are widespread due to the errors that occur when the viruses are in the presence of human beings. The effects of the errors performed by the human race include a decrease in population and wildlife. The viruses are spread in many different ways in the novel, but all are due to human mistakes.
Zaire, Ebola, Sudan, and now, Reston. These are all level four hot viruses. That means there are no vaccines and there are no cures for these killers. In 1976 Ebola climbed out of its primordial hiding place in the jungles. of Africa, and in two outbreaks in Zaire and Sudan wiped out six hundred people.
Chester M. Southam, MD, was an American virologist who worked on curing cancer. “Studies had shown that a pathogen called the Russian spring-summer encephalitis virus could eradicate tumors in mice. Because that virus was considered too dangerous for people, Southam searched for something milder, settling on the newly discovered West Nile virus.” He had already spent some time in Africa injecting an assortment of viruses including mumps, dengue, West Nile, and Semliki Forest virus in severely ill cancer patients. The West Nile Virus usually
Changes in the way cases of valley fever are being detected and reported to public health officials, or
The virus is primarily spherical shaped and roughly 200nm in size, surrounded by a host-cell derived membrane. Its genome is minus-sense single-stranded RNA 16-18 kb in length. It contains matrix protein inside the envelope, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, fusion protein, nucleocapsid protein, and L and P proteins to form the RNA polymerase. The host-cell receptors on the outside are hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. The virus is allowed to enter the cell when the hemagglutinin/ neuraminidase glycoproteins fuse with the sialic acid on the surface of the host cell, and the capsid enters the cytoplasm. The infected cells express the fusion protein from the virus, and this links the host cells together to create syncitia.
The patient presented in the setting of a large epidemiologic study of yellow fever virus;
Back in the ancient’s time during the pre-historic era as far as 1000 AD this disease was not very much known to people but have said to be found on an Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses V mummy who died in 1157BC (Henderson, Fenner, Arita, Ladnyi, 1988 p 209-210). There was evidence of pustule eruption and rash that have been seen on the mummy similar to the description of a variola virus. Part of the idea of where this disease came from is unknown and where the origin of this disease is very much not clear. This disease that is known to be contagious and deadly at times is called smallpox. The early civilization had believed smallpox was originated from Africa and soon had spread though out the world like China and India (Fenn, 2003).
Yellow fever is also found in other areas besides the ones listed above. It can also be carried throughout South America and all of Africa. Even though it can be carried to these places it is more often than not confined to areas surrounding the equator because mosquitoes have short life spans and yellow fever can be contracted and spread all year long in these tropical regions. In certain places, such as North America, yellow fever has been totally eliminated and the government suggests vaccination for the disease if a citizen is leaving the country.
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)
Marburg hemorrhagic fever (Marburg HF) is a rare but acute hemorrhagic fever that affects both humans and primates. Transmission is mainly human-to-human, resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly, with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. The individuals at the highest risk of transmission include family members and hospital staff who care for patients infected with Marburg virus. Individuals who have close interaction with African fruit bat, human patients, or non-human primates disease-ridden with Marburg Virus are at risk. The variance diagnoses usually consist of malaria, typhoid fever, shigellosis, cholera,
According to the World Health Organization (2014) “Ebola first took place in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, Sudan.., in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. [and the] latter occurred in a village near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name”. The disease has also started spreading through countries such as Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia (which are West African countries). The United States of America had their first case of Ebola on September 30, 2014, when a man traveling back from Liberia was diagnosed with the disease in Dallas, Texas (CDC 2014). The man did not show symptoms until he reached the United States.
The Ebola Virus Ebola is a virus and part of the negative-stranded RNA family known as filovirus. It was discovered in 1976 in Africa and was named after a river in Zaire. When the virus is looked at under an electron microscope, the filoviridae appear to be long, thin and occasionally they have 'branches' sprouting from one place or another. Ebola can also take the form of a U or a B. There are four known strains of the virus; they are Ebola Sudan, Ebola Zaire, Ebola Reston and Ebola Tai. Ebola Reston only causes disease in monkeys, but the rest of them take approximately 8 hours to duplicate itself.
The most common sites of malaria-carrying mosquitoes is in tropical and subtropical areas with warm climates. Also, there must be a source of water, such as a lake, ocean, or stream, because this is where the mosquitoes breed. While Africa is the site of most malaria cases, there are a few other countries that account for some of the malaria cases. In fact, in 1990, seventy-five percent of all recorded malaria cases outside Africa were condensed in nine countries, which were India, Brazil, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and China. There was once a small malaria epidemic in the United States. It occurred mainly in Army families. This was because U.S. troops in other countries were not on the proper medication, contracted the disease, and brought it back to the United States.