Ebola Virus Essay

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Ebola Virus – A Bloody Killer

The first doctor I saw told that it was malaria. Only in the special unit at the hospital I was diagnosed Ebola. I was isolated with other infected. None of us could sleep – we thought we would not make it to the morning. More and more people were dying and their bodies were wrapped and taken away and everything was happening in front of us. But then I started feeling better, step by step, and all symptoms gradually stopped. This was a powerful feeling when other doctors, nurses and other people waiting for me were not afraid of approaching to me. They were shaking my hands and felt safe touching me and I realized I was better (BBC World Service 2014).
By an average person from US, UK or from other developed countries this story might be confused with the plot of the fictional movie “Contagion” which features the uncontrollable spread of a deadly disease leading to more and more deaths all around the world. However, for the citizens of Central and West Africa this plot has become a reality. The cause of this nightmarish reality is Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF).

Ebola is…

Ebola virus of the Ebolavirus genus is a zoonotic infectious pathogen, which causes hemorrhagic fever in humans and non-human primates (Sobarzo A et al 2013). First introduced back in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the first outbreak with a lethal consequence of 280 out of 318 infected (McElroy AK et al 2014), now it is likely to gather pace. Although all subsequent Ebola outbreaks have occurred in a certain geographical area in Central and West parts of Africa with no reported spread beyond (Dimmock NJ et al 2007), the virus gives rise to serious public concern due to its extremel...

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...ound in our bodies. The trick is that the virus “gets confused” and incorporates the fatal molecule into its growing RNA strands which leads to the prevention of RNA synthesis and thus the entire viral replication.
In order to investigate the efficiency of the molecule and possible side effects, the research team tested the effect of BXC4430 on animal models. Cynomolgus macaques were inoculated with a fatal dose of Marburg virus and were treated with daily doses of BXC4430 from between 1-48 hours post infection. The results indicated that only one monkey treated one hour after being infected died. The rest of the monkeys survived and moreover didn’t show any symptoms of the disease. No signs of systemic toxicity were found.
It is still too early to announce that the Ebola virus disease is defeated but a great step towards that has been made (Warren TK et al 2014).

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