Treatment for Ebola

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There is no cure for the Ebola virus, nor is there a vaccine for protection against it. Since vaccines must be specific to certain strains, it’s not likely that a universal for all four vaccines will be produced. There are many factors could lead to an Ebola Epidemic. . Here is a list of conditions that could contribute to such a disastrous event. - the presence of animal or insect vectors near a human population; - exposure of the virus to an individual in a remote setting, and the individual returning to a more highly populated area; - poor hygiene and sanitation in a human population, hence increasing the chances of contact with bodily fluid (e.g. excretion from Ebola patients get into sewage system and human contact is common); - decreased immunity level in population; - insufficient public health infrastructure (e.g. hospital facilities); - lack of public education regarding the virus; - poor communication infrastructure (leading to delayed medical response and public notification). The analysis of these conditions has helped many understand when, why and how Ebola disasters strike. Precautions can therefore be taken by following the following preventive measures.

After Ebola spreads through one of the four methods of transmissions, Ebola starts to show its symptoms in the infected. The time between the invasion of Ebola and the appearance of its symptoms is two to twenty – one days. Once Ebola has infected its victim methods of diagnosing should be taken immediately. Diagnosing the Ebola virus may take up to 10 days. The methods used to detect the virus are very slow, compared to how rapid Ebola can kill its victims. Blood or tissue samples are sent to a high- containment laboratory designed for working with infected substances and are tested for specific antigens, antibodies or the virus’s genetic material itself. Recently, a skin test has been developed which can detect infections much faster. A skin biopsy specimen is fixed in a chemical called Formaline, which kills the virus, and is then safely transported to a lab. It is processed with chemicals and if the dead Ebola virus is present, the specimen will turn bright red. There is no specific treatment against the Ebola virus. Patients are given intravenous infusions of fluid and electrolytes, but the purpose of these is merely to keep the patient hydrated while h...

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...sign a vaccine that prevents this dreaded disease in humans. This was discovered in Nov of 2000, but no further news has been made available.

In conlclusion, though the Ebola virus has no known cure as of yet that is universal a possibility of a cure has recently been discovered. Recently a protein known as cyanovirin-N found in blue-green algae has become associated with both HIV and the Ebola Virus. Cyanovirin has been found to partially inhibit the ability of both Ebola and HIV to bind and infect cells, there-by extending the host's survival time (Barrientos, 2003). Cyanovirin has been found to bind to the outside of cells there by inhibiting their ability to cross the cellular membranes (Barrientos, 2003). Cyanovirin shows promise in its ability to attatch to sugar molecules found on the surface of both HIV and the Ebola virus (Barrientos, 2003). Research trials have been preformed using animal models, in which test animals were infect with Ebola and given injections of cyanovirin once a day. This trial resulted in a delay in the onset of the disease, and longer survival in those animals injected with the protein than in those that were not injected (Barrientos, 2003) .

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