Ebola 2
Ebola 2In 1976, Ebola virus made it’s first appearance in Zaire, Africa, causing the death of hundreds of people. The second outbreak occurred western Sudan, also in 1976. These were large outbreaks, resulting in more than 550 cases and 340 deaths. In 1979, Ebola mysteriously re-appeared in Sudan causing 34 cases and 22 fatalities. The most recent Ebola Zaire outbreak started with a surgery on a suspected Malaria patient in Kikwit, Zaire on April 10, 1995. As in the 1976 outbreak, further transmission of the virus in Kikwit occurred though close personal contact with infectious blood and other body fluids. Members of the surgical team then developed symptoms similar to those of a viral hemorrhagic fever disease. The Ebola Zaire in Kikwit spread quickly, but investigation and control of the outbreak come from a combined effort of medical teams from the U.S. Center for disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization, and from other health organizations in Belgium, France, and South Africa. Since July 1, 1995, 233 deaths have been reported among the 293 cases, in Africa (Garrett 195).
Since 1976, researchers have searched for an origin and cure of the virus. Scientist have carried out numerous studies and investigations. Therefore, we now know what the virus is capable of doing, how those infected with the disease can be properly treated , and the need to perform prompt action to isolate the virus before it disperses (Garrett 192).
The Ebola virus is a member of a family of RNA viruses known as filoviruses, which consist of the Marburg virus and four Ebola viruses: Ebola Zaire, Sudan, Reston and Tai are the five different viruses that have been known to cause disease in humans, while Ebola Reston only causes disease in monkeys. Filoviruses, arenaviruses, flaviruses, and bunyaviruses are the viruses responsible for causing viral hemorrhagic fevers. All forms of virus of viral hemorrhagic fever begin with fever and muscle aches. These diseases usually progress until the patient becomes very ill with respiratory problems, severe bleeding, kidney malfunctions, and shock. The viral hemorrhagic fever can cause death (Drucker 29).
Ebola viruses are spread though close personal contact with a person who is very ill with the disease, but it is unlikely to spread by close contact with infected person who shows no symptoms. Usually the wide spread action of the virus takes place among hospital care workers or family members who were aiding an infected person. Ebola can spread by the reuse of hypodermic needles, which occurs frequently in underdeveloped countries like Zaire and Sudan, (MacKenzie 113).
The Ebola virus spreads through the blood and is replicated in organs, including the liver, lymphatic organs, kidneys, ovaries and testes. It attacks the vascular endothelium and the platelets. The resulting symptoms are bleeding, especially in the nose, abdomen, pericardium and vagina. Capillary leakage appears to lead to internal and external bleeding, shock and the acute respiratory disorder seen in fatal cases. Patients...
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