Ebola Research

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Currently known as an incurable disease that can be used as a potential bioterrorism weapon, the Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF) has a case fatality rate of up to 90% depending on the species of the Ebola Virus (EBOV). EBOV is an enveloped single-stranded negative-sense RNA virus belonging to the family Filoviridae [4]. The first outbreaks of EHF occurred in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan, they were caused by two species of Ebola virus named Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV) and Sudan ebolavirus (SEBOV). Between the years 1980-1993 there were no known outbreaks of EBOV, until 1994 a species known as Cote d'lvoire ebolavirus (CIEBOV) erupted in the Ivory Coast; in 2007 another species known as Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BEBOV) became present in Uganda in nonhuman primates.
While the main source of transmission of EHF remains unknown, the virus was first recognized in and named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) in Africa. EHF is believed to be spread by contact with dead gorillas or chimpanzees, and in areas where nonhuman primates were not present it has been linked to the hunting and eating of fruit bats. A similar host is probably associated with Ebola-Reston 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 [1].
Definitive diagnosis of suspected cases of EHF is usually made by PCR detection and virus isolation on Vero cells [2]. The signs, symptoms and time frame of events of EHF are not the same for all patients. However, after an isolation period of two to twenty-one days, the onset is typically abrupt. For the majority of EHF patients, th...

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Rollin, Pierre E. "On the path of a pathogen." Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy 13.4 (1998): 17+. Gale Power Search. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Wen, Zhiyuan, et al. "Recombinant lentogenic Newcastle disease virus expressing Ebola virus GP infects cells independently of exogenous trypsin and uses macropinocytosis as the major pathway for cell entry." Virology Journal 10 (2013): 331. Gale Power Search. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

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