The Ebola Virus

1946 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: the effects of the ebola virus.

Introduction
One time or another most of us has had a cold or the flu. These are caused by viruses. Viruses are minor infectious agents that replicates only inside living cells of other organisms.1 Unlike human cells or bacteria, viruses do not have enough chemical mechanisms (enzymes) to carry out chemical feedback in life. Instead, viruses carry about one or two enzymes that interpret their genetic instructions. Therefore, a virus must have a host cell in which to survive, replicate, and produce more viruses. Without a host cell, a virus cannot function. For this reason, viruses tread the line that separates nonliving and living organisms. Many scientists agree that viruses are living because of what happens when they infect the host cell.1 The flu or the common cold viruses are not as harmful as the Ebola and Herpes virus. Bacteria on the other hand, are a type of living, single cell microorganisms. There are plenty of non-harmful bacteria in the environment, but bacteria like Yersinia pestis(Bubonic plague), which can be really deadly and dangerous. Unlike viruses, bacteria do not need a host cell, they are independent and can reproduce without an exterior body. Even though viruses and bacteria may seem similar to a regular person, they are widely different in so many ways, including their cellular and molecular structures, treatments, and how it interacts with its host. This paper I will discuss the above in detail.
Taxonomy
Ebola is a very aggressive pathogen that cause(s) a lethal hemorrhagic fever syndrome in human and nonhuman primates.2The virus can be classified in the subfamily of the Filoviridae. The Ebola fever is a group of five virus, which possess a negative sense single stranded RNA genomes. The structure of ...

... middle of paper ...

..., Ebola Virus January 2003 Available from: https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-a, , Ebola Virus avoids Immune SystemJanuary 2009 Available from: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2009/01/tetherin-ebola.html (Accessed March 2013 ).nd-microbiology/ebola (Accessed January 2013 ).

4. , , Yersinia Pestis January 2007 Available from: http://www.fas.org/programs/bio/factsheets/plaguefs.html (Accessed January 2013 ).

5. , , Black Death January 2013 Available from: Saylor.org (Accessed March 2013 ).

6. Stenseth, N, Plague:Past, Present, and FutureJanuary 2008 Available from: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0050003 (Accessed January 2013 ).

7. Nordqvist, C, What is Herpes?What is genital herpes?May 2009 Available from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151739.php (Accessed January 2013 ).

Show More
Related

  • The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

    672 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Understanding Bloodborne Pathogens

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Bacteria, Viruses, and Prions

    758 Words  | 2 Pages

    Viruses are the simplest and tiniest of microbes, and are made up of proteins, nucleic acid, and lipids. The nucleic acids contain the genetic code that helps them grow and reproduce, but only once they find their way into a living organism. Viruses themselves are not considered living organisms because they don’t have cells, they don’t metabolize nutrients, produce and excrete wastes, and they can’t move around on their own. The remains of the nucleic acid then forms a covering, called the capsid. Once the capsid gets removed, viruses use the building materials of th...

    Read More

  • The Hot Zone Summary

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this book they talk about how the virus attaches itself to “host cells,” such as living human/animal cells, and from there it damages the all of the cells in the body by multiplication. Once the virus has taken over all of the living cells in one person or animal, it jumps to the next living cell it can find, causing an amplification of the virus. Once the virus cannot find another host cell, the virus “vanishes,” but it doesn’t go away. It is just waiting for the next victim to come along. This emphasizes the importance of the working with this virus in a biocontainment facility that is made especially for pathogenic viruses and bacteria like Ebola.

    Read More

  • Gangrene: A Socially Stigmatized Disease

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nordqvist, Christian. What Is Gangrene? What Causes Gangrene? 24 July 2009. 10 November 2013 .

    Read More

  • The Ebola Virus: History, Occurrences, and Effects

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Frontline Outbreak Ebola Summary

    419 Words  | 1 Pages

    The main point of the film, Frontline, Outbreak: Ebola, was to illustrate the devastating effects of the Ebola outbreak, how it emerged and affected regions of Africa, and threatened to spread worldwide.

    Read More

  • The Ebola Virus

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Ebola virus and Marburg virus are the two known members of the Filovirus family. Marburg is a relative of the Ebola virus. The four strains of Ebola are Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Reston, and Ebola Tai. Each one is named after the location where it was discovered. These filoviruses cause hemorrhagic fever, which is actually what kills victims of the Ebola virus. Hemorrhagic fever is defined as a group of viral aerosol infections, characterized by fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and respiratory symptoms. This is followed by capillary hemorrhages, and, in severe infection, kidney failure, hypotension, and, possibly, death. The incubation period for Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever ranges from 2-21 days. The blood fails to clot and patients may bleed from injection sites and into the gastrointestinal tract, skin and internal organs. Massive destruction of the liver is one distinct symptom of Ebola. This virus does in ten days what it takes AIDS ten years to do. It also requires bio-safety level four containment, the highest and most dangerous level. HIV the virus that causes AIDS requires only a bio-safety level of two. In reported outbreaks, 50%-90% of cases have been fatal.

    Read More

  • The Ebola Virus

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Ebola Haemorrahagic Fever, or Ebola for short, was first recognized as a virus in 1967. The first breakout that caused the Ebola virus to be recognized was in Zaire with 318 people infected and 280 killed. There are five subtypes of the Ebola virus, but only four of them affect humans. There are the Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory Coast and the Ebola-Bundibugyo. The fifth one, the Ebola-Reston, only affects nonhuman primates. The Ebola-Zaire was recognized on August 26, 1976 with a 44 year old schoolteacher as the first reported case. The Ebola-Sudan virus was also recognized in 1976 and was thought to be that same as Ebola-Zaire and it is thought to have broken out in a cotton factory in the Sudan. The Ebola-Ivory Coast was first discovered in 1994 in chimpanzees in the Tia Forest in Africa. On November 24, 2007, the Ebola-Bundibugyo branch was discovered with an approximate total of 116 people infected in the first outbreak and 39 deaths. The Ebola-Reston is the only one of the five subtypes to not affect humans, only nonhuman primates. It first broke out in Reston, Virginia in 1989 among crab eating macaques.

    Read More

  • The Hot Zone Sparknotes

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beside the Ebola Virus, there are many other lethal viruses that are similar to Ebola and have similar effects, and fatality rates. One virus that is somewhat discussed in the book, is the Marburg Virus.

    Read More

  • The Deadly Ebola Virus

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    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)

    Read More

  • Marburg Virus Essay

    2210 Words  | 5 Pages

    Marburg virus belongs to the genus Marburgvirus in the family Filoviridae, and causes a grave hemorrhagic fever, known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF), in twain humans and nonhuman primates. Basic Safety measures for medical personnel and others who are taking care of presumed individuals who may be contaminated with Marburg disease. Marburg Virus, Akin to the more widely known Ebola hemorrhagic fever, MHF is portrayed by systemic viral replication, lowering the body’s normal immune response to invasion by foreign substances and abnormal inflammatory responses. Ebola and Marburg Virus are very similar in many ways Marburg virus was introduced first in the 1960’s. These pathological features of the disease subsidize to a numerous of systemic dysfunctions including

    Read More

  • Ebola Outbreak Of West Africa

    1176 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the current major concerns in the world is the outbreak of Ebola. Ebola is a infectious disease that comes from the Ebola virus and it can cause death if the patient is left untreated. The disease can be managed with treatment of the patient, however. Ebola is a disease that is a major concern in the Subsaharan African Realm, and in the North American Realm,but it is beginning to be dealt with sufficiently in the Northern American Realm.

    Read More

  • Possibility of Zombie Apocalypse

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Virus- An infectious agent found in virtually all life forms, including humans, animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Viruses touch us every day through water, food, physical contact, blood, animals, or even, the air you breathe. All though most are harmless there are some that...

    Read More

  • Sleep and Teenagers

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Adenosine - What Is Adenosine?" Adenosine - What Is Adenosine? N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

More about The Ebola Virus

Open Document