The Ebola Virus
Ebola is a virus and part of the negative-stranded RNA family known as filovirus. It was discovered in 1976 in Africa and was named after a river in Zaire. When the virus is looked at under an electron microscope the filoviridae appear as being long, thin and occasionally they have 'branches' sprouting from one place or another. Ebola can also take the form of a 'U' or a 'b'. There are four known strains of the virus; they are Ebola Sudan, Ebola Zaire, Ebola Reston and Ebola Tai. Ebola Reston only causes disease in monkeys but as the rest of them take approximately 8 hours to duplicate itself.
How is it Transmitted
The Ebola virus can easily be transmitted through direct contact of blood, organs, secretions of any kind and semen from any person infected. Another method is that of used needles that have been infected. With all countries considered, the 3rd world and the reuse of needles are a common practice, due to lack of funds and supplies. Though recovered patients pose no serious threat, the virus is present up to 7 weeks after being treated. Vomit and diarrhea contain the infected blood and mucus so any contact with this, e.g. in poor drinking water can cause contraction of the virus. Luckily enough Ebola is not airborne and in some cases due to its self-limiting nature, it has been known to die out within a person before killing the host. In one case when a Swiss researcher found the Ebola Tai virus, she contracted it from a chimpanzee. This was during an investigation into the spur of deaths among them at the time. To this day, there is still no evidence as to what host carried the virus before humans and no location of the virus is known.
The Effect on the Body
Within the 4 to 16 days the Ebola virus starts to show its face with headaches, fevers, chills, muscle aches and a loss of appetite. As the virus progresses, patients start to experience diarrhea, rashes, a sore throat, vomiting, abdominal pain, and chest pain. The ability and functions of the liver and kidneys become limited, and internal and external bleeding starts. The blood no longer clots and that obviously causes serious problems.
After the death of Charles Monet, the stage is set for much more to come. At the time, Monet’s death was considered unknown, because the Ebola virus was not known about at the time. Medication and antibiotics have no effect on someone with the virus, so obviously it’s pretty serious. Ebola is probably one of the most disgusting things anyone could ever imagine. What is basically does is turn your internal organs into liquid that then pours out of every single hole in your body, even the pores in your skin. Another effect of this virus is coughing up your own blood. This happens because the blood clots in your arteries and veins, which forces it to come out of your mouth and other areas. Eventually your skin will just explode from the pressure of all the blood built up in-between your skin and flesh. This virus can be very deceiving because it has the regular symptoms of diseases like malaria and typhoid fever, but it can kill you within a matter of 10 days.
But the virus had never been seen outside of Africa and the consequences of Having the virus in a busy suburb of Washington DC is too terrifying to contemplate. Theoretically, an airborne strain of Ebola could emerge and circle. the world in about six weeks. Ebola virus victims usually "crash and bleed," a. military term which literally means the virus attacks every organ of the body. and transforms every part of the body into a digested slime of virus particles.
In the New York Times interview of Richard Preston, the well renowned author of The Hot Zone, is conducted in order to shed some light on the recent Ebola outbreak and the peaked re-interest in his novel. The Hot Zone is articulated as “thriller like” and “horrifying.” Preston uses similar diction and style choices corresponding with his novel. By choosing to use these specific methods he is advertising and promoting The Hot Zone to the audience members that are interested in reading, and reaching out to those who read and enjoyed his novel. He continuously grabs and keeps the reader’s attention by characterizing and personifying Ebola as the “enemy [and] the invisible monster without a face” in order to give the spectators something to grasp and understand the Ebola virus. Along with characterization, Preston uses descriptions with laminate
Also considered as a hemorrhagic fever, MVD can affect both humans and animals, specifically those of primate species. The virus is classified as a unique strand – so unique that it is one of five in the same family to include that strand of the Ebola virus. The virus can contain as little as one strand to be contagious and can survive up to two weeks in blood specimens at room temperature. The incubation period, which is the time between exposure and when symptoms begin to appear in victims, is 2-21 days. Research suggests that the RNA strand is a filo-virus and that the highest inter-human transmission takes place from contact with body fluids or injections. Subcutaneous transmission also occurs especially when caring for an ailing loved one and/or disposing or pr...
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a viral disease that was first recorded in 1976, when an outbreak occurred in Yambuku, Zaire, a country that was latter renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo (Walsh, Biek & Real, 2005). During the outbreak 318 cases were recorded of which 280 (88%) died. Later the same year, an outbreak occurred in Sudan where 284 cases were recorded with fatality rate of 53%. The disease and the virus that cause it are named after River Ebola that passes though Yambuku. In the USA, Ebola killed several monkeys in Reston, Virginia in 1989 (Barton, 2006; CDC, 2000). Despite several other outbreaks, the disease has neither medically approved pre-exposure nor post-exposure interventions. However, ongoing research shows optimistic signs.
In the Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston, published in 1995, is a novel about the origins and the development of viral hemorrhagic fevers, especially ebola and marburg. These diseases are all Biosafety Level 4 agents, which means that they are extremely dangerous because they are highly infectious, have a high case-fatality rate, and there are no known treatments or cures. Marburg Virus and Ebola virus are filoviruses belong to a virus family called Filoviridae and they can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates. Five species of Ebola Virus have been identified: Taï Forest, Sudan, Zaire, Reston and Bundibugyo. The book describes the history of these diseases by explaining
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)
According to the World Health Organization (2014) “Ebola first took place in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, Sudan.., in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. [and the] latter occurred in a village near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name”. The disease has also started spreading through countries such as Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia (which are West African countries). The United States of America had their first case of Ebola on September 30, 2014, when a man traveling back from Liberia was diagnosed with the disease in Dallas, Texas (CDC 2014). The man did not show symptoms until he reached the United States.
Very little is known about these deadly viruses that can kills up to 90% of its victims. Most of the information known in the world today has been compiled in this article. Ebola is a filovirus of which there are 4 known strains: Marburg, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Zaire, and Ebola Reston. The origins of these viruses come from all around the world, however all of them are lethal.
Ebola is not transmitted by air, a person has to come in contact with it by means of bodily fluid (sweat or feces) in a living person or dead person and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has even reported that Ebola stays in a man’s semen for up to 3 months after contraction. (Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease)-Transmission) iii. The recent outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 62 cases and 35 deaths as of September 9, 2014 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the reason for this large number is human to human contact. (Ebola (Ebola Virus
The Ebola outbreak started to make families abandon their love ones. Dealing with the disease that causing many to die in West Africa, people who interact with this dangerous and epidemic virus are treated like outsiders. After Mr. Kamara , a villager, started working for the Ebola task force, his family said, “ he was no longer welcome in his village”(Nossiter and Solomon). The quotation could illustrate to the audience that people in West Africa would deny their loved ones who joined fight against of Ebola. Families broken up by the virus of Ebola. The illness was easy to contract by just physical contact. Helene Cooper asserts,”Ebola is spread through bodily fluids: vomit, blood, feces, tears , saliva, and sweat”. The illness illustrates
According to the Centers for Disease and prevention (CDC), Ebola is recognized a rare disease, however it is also deadly and caused by infection with a strain of Ebola Virus. Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) mentioned the 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, affecting several countries in West Africa. The outbreak of Ebola Virus centered in West Africa is very terrifying for several reasons. As mentioned previously it is the largest Ebola outbreak ever, having claimed thousands of lives; and the deadly virulent disease can spread easily from person to person in later stages. Not only in West Africa this Virus has visited, but also very few areas within the United
Imagine a country where you could share a drink with someone and catch a virus that gives you a higher chance of dying than survival, a country where everyone is in fear of being in public, and nurses are in fear of coming into work. Many issues and questions concern the problem of Ebola in our society. The issue that is the focus of this paper is how to prevent Ebola from spreading across the country and becoming a bigger problem than it already is now. There are steps we must take to defeat Ebola, and this is a virus we must eliminate because it's very easily spread, can create a great amount of hysteria; possibly even anarchy, and can be cured if researched well enough before it's too late.
During day 10, the person would suffer from vomiting blood, passive behavior, and high fever. During day 11, the person would have bruises, brain damage, external bleeding from the nose, eyes, mouth and anus. During day 12 (the final day), the person would pass out, have seizures, and internal bleeding, and most likely, death. In the other hand, if you do take the vaccine and it is most likely to work, the Africans would not have a major risk of getting Ebola. It would change how the world response to such emerging infectious disease threats, and it will destroy any Ebola virus cells that enters the body. Before it does any harm. According to the article “Fewer Ebola cases so far, this year, but the virus is still a threat”, it states, “The study means that it's ‘less likely than we thought that vaccines and treatment options would fail.’ He said” This shows that it is less likely for the vaccine to not work and the advantages empower the
This virus lives within fruit bats, moneys, gorillas, etc. It was learned that this transmission occurred when these animals would release bodily fluids, blood, or other secretions into areas that are in contact with humans. Humans then contracted this virus and it spread to other humans by direct contact, contact with infected bodily fluids, or contact with other bodily fluids. Due to the lack of health care, health systems, and health resources, there’s no proper treatment for these people who contract the virus. This virus got into the U.S. by an individual who was infected with Ebola came to the U.S.