History Of The Ebola Virus

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Ebola is a member of the virus family Filoviridae, causes hemorrhagic fever, which is serious illness in humans and animals. Ebola virus disease is extremely contagious, with mortality rate is 92%. It is transmitted to human from wild animals (chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys) or from human through liquid body substance like blood, slaver, urine, etc. of a person who is infected with Ebola, except water and air. Ebola virus is found in various countries in Africa. It was first discovered in 1976, during an outbreak in Zaire and Sudan. Since then, Ebola has been started outbreak in Central Africa. The current outbreaks of Ebola are appearing in West Africa, and two imported Ebola virus diseases (EVD) cases in the United States. This is the largest …show more content…

From 1977 to 2013, there were less than 500 cases infected with Ebola and fewer than 300 deaths per year. As of August 2007, 413 people were infected with Ebola by a hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. It started with the village chief‘s funeral who died from unidentified causes, after that the villagers became ill and then EBOV spread out. The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest in history. EBOV cases are speeding up over time and spread out all over the world. To date, there are 4,808 deaths out of 13,015 cases infected with Ebola and the mortality rate is 90%. Researchers believe the Ebola outbreak was first started with a 2 year old boy in Meliandou, Guinea in December 2013. His family hunts bats for meat, yet African bats are carring Ebola virus which directly caused infection. His sister, mother, and grandmother died in a few weeks later, after his death with similar symptoms. People in the village came to the funeral and got infected, then spread the virus to other villages. It became a plurality of public health issue; however, they mistook the hemorrhagic fever of Ebola with Lassa fever or other disease. In March 2014, the Ebola virus disease spread throughout four countries in West Africa: Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. This is the first time an Ebola outbreak occurs in these regions. On 28 May, Guinea's Ministry of Health (GMH) reported that 281 …show more content…

From August 2014 to September 2014, there are two EBOV cases in Spain. Unfortunately, two people who volunteered in Liberia and in Sierra Leone died after they were airlifted to their country. People who infected with EBOV while volunteering in West Africa are immediately airlifted to their countries for treatment, including: United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, and France. According to the WHO, people had been recovered and no death case. However, there is an imported case in the United States (US). A businessman’s name Eric Duncan traveled from Liberia to US with Ebola virus disease. He was sent to a Dallas hospital in Texas and isolated since he has a positive test for Ebola. He succumbed to EBOV and his death was announced on September 28. Vinson and Nina Pham are two nurses at Dallas hospital who treated patient Eric Duncan were tested positive for the disease. Both were sent to Maryland for their treatment and released on October 24 and 30. Till today, no further EBOV case in US according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevent

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