Download Reber Calleigh Reber Ms. Schubach 8th Grade Research 21

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Calleigh Reber
Ms. Schubach
8th Grade Research
21 November 2014
The Ebola Virus
Since the first Ebola outbreak in 1976, there have been 4,467 recorded cases of Ebola in
humans. 2,598 of the 4,467 people have died (“Outbreaks Chronology: Ebola Hemorrhagic
Fever”). Both of those numbers are continuing to grow. There is no known vaccine or treatment
for the virus yet, but scientists and doctors all over the world are working hard to find one. The
Ebola virus is a major issue in the world today. It is important to know where it came from, how
the virus spreads, and how to prevent future outbreaks.
The Ebola virus first emerged in Africa in 1976. The virus was named after the Ebola
River in northern Zaire, where the first case of Ebola was found in humans. Although Ebola is
known for being found in Africa that is not the only place it has been found. Some unusual
places the virus has been found are, Virginia, Texas, the Philippines, and Germany (“TED Case
Studies: Ebola, Trade, and the Environment”). Bodies of people infected with Ebola can stay
infected with the virus for up to 30 days after death (“Americare: Critical Supplies Reaching
Health Workers Fighting Ebola Outbreak”). The original host of the Ebola virus was bats in
Central and West Africa. Very little is known about what triggers human-to-human transmission
(“5 Questions about Ebola”). Ebola is only obvious when humans, monkeys, or bats have
become infected with the virus. This is because it is not known where bats become infected with
it. The reason that the virus is spreading so quickly is because it is hitting some of the most
densely populated cities in Africa (Poon).
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There are five different subtypes of Ebola. They are Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, EbolaIvory Coast, Ebola-Bundibugyo, and Ebola-Reston (Geisbert). The different types of the virus
were named after the five different places they were first found (Poon). Ebola-Zaire is the most
deadly of the five different types of Ebola. It has greater than a 90% fatality rate (Geisbert).
There have been two different Ebola-Sudan outbreaks. Both of them happened in Sudan. Four
people were infected with the virus in the first Ebola-Sudan strain. There was a 100% fatality
rate in that epidemic. In the second Ebola-Sudan outbreak there were 34 recorded cases. There
was only a 69% fatality rate in this one (Waterman). There has been one Ebola-Ivory Coast
outbreak. This happened in Côte d'Ivoire, or the Ivory Coast. Many monkeys were infected with
the Ebola-Ivory Coast virus in this outbreak, but only one human was infected. The scientist was
infected with the virus after working with monkeys infected with this strain of the virus. She was
cured so there was a zero percent fatality rate (Waterman). Ebola-Reston infected 100 monkeys
in Reston, Virginia in 1989. The class of diseases that Ebola belongs to is known as viral
hemorrhagic fevers. The diseases caused by Ebola range from mild to deadly. All of the viruses
cause a threat to humans except for Ebola-Reston (Geisbert). This disease usually has two phases
depending on what signs and symptoms the patient has (Locsin).
Showing symptoms of the Ebola virus can be key to surviving it. If you do not show any
symptoms than there is no way of knowing you have it. After being infected with Ebola, you
start to notice symptoms after about 21 days (Geisbert). Since there are two phases of Ebola,
there are different symptoms for each phase. Some symptoms for phase one include, fever,
extreme asthenia (weakness), diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, anorexia, abdominal pain, severe
headache, conjunctival infection, sore throat, and pain on swallowing. Symptoms of phase two
are often similar to symptoms of phase one, but more severe (Locsin). Before the virus gets very
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serious, some symptoms that occur are fever and chills, headache, joint and muscle aches, and
weakness (Geisbert). If you have not died within 48 hours of being infected, than by the second
week of being infected (if you make it that long), you will most likely die from multiple organ
failures and/or hemorrhage. The fatality rate of the Ebola virus is extremely high (Easton).
Although Ebola is a major problem in Africa, scientists say that there is no need to worry
about getting it here in the United States. Although what happened it Texas contradicts what
scientists have predicted. That is because the virus is spread by contaminated items such as,
needles, or by touching bodily fluids from an infected person. Ebola is NOT spread by air, water,
or food (“5 Questions about Ebola”). Emily Landon, M.D. says, “Every hospital in the United
States is capable of managing a case and effectively protecting its staff and patients from an
Ebola infection. So if a patient comes to one of the hospitals in the US, the teams there will have
the tools and skills that they need to protect everybody from getting a case of Ebola. The Atlanta
facility where they are caring for the two Americans evacuated from Liberia has a special
isolated unit within their research space that’s even safer, but again, any hospital in American
should be able to take care of a patient with Ebola safely.” (“5 Questions about Ebola”).
Because of modern day transportation, Ebola may be spread to places it has never been before. It
is very difficult for airport security to find someone with Ebola that is not showing any
symptoms. This means that an infected person not showing any symptoms could leave their
country and possibly infect others. Doctors all over Africa are working to keep the virus
contained (TED Case Studies: Ebola, Trade, and the Environment). Most people in the West
African region do not even know how the virus is spread since it is new to that region (Poon).
One can become infected with Ebola by eating an infected animal, or through direct contact with
the secretions, blood, or other bodily fluids such as vomit of an infected person (Kinsman). Even
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though Ebola is highly contagious, influenza is more contagious because it spreads by air and
Ebola does not (“Ebola’s End: History’s Lessons). Saeed, Kolokoltsov, Alrecht, and Davey say
“Ebola enters cells through endocytosis, which is the taking in of matter by a living cell by
invagination of its membrane to form a vacuole.” Some people think that the virus is naturally
found in the rainforests of Central Africa, near where HIV originated (“TED Case Studies:
Ebola, Trade, and the Environment”). While preparing a family member that died of Ebola for a
burial, family members can still be infected because the body is still contagious (Poon). Thomas
Geisbert, PhD from Uniformed Services University of the Health Science, says, “The Ebola virus
is also a master at evading the body’s natural defenses: it blocks the signaling to cells called
neutrophils, which are white blood cells that are in charge of raising the alarm for the immune
system to come and attack. In fact, Ebola will infect immune cells and travel in those cells to
other parts of the body- including the liver, kidney, spleen, and brain.”
The first ever outbreak of Ebola was in 1976 in Zaire. There were 318 people that
were infected in that outbreak, and 280 of them died. A few months later there was another
outbreak in Zaire (“Brief General History of Ebola”). In the 1990s there were eleven Ebola
outbreaks, and 348 deaths. In the early 2000s there were also eleven outbreaks and 725 deaths.
The largest outbreak (prior to the one going on now) 425 clinical cases were reported and 224 of
the 425 died. The ratio of men to women infected in that outbreak was 37:63 (Kinsman). The
largest Ebola outbreak on record was in Gulu, Uganda in September 2000. This happened at
Lacor Hospital. Two days later and isolation ward was established at the hospital. The countries
with known Ebola outbreaks are tropical African countries like Sudan, Zaire, Republic of Congo,
Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Uganda (Kinsman). The only place the virus has been found in the
United States was in Reston, Virginia where a few monkeys were infected with it (Poon). In the
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Ebola-Reston outbreak around 100 cynomolgus monkeys were infected with the virus
(Waterman). Health workers working to fight the virus, and prevent future outbreaks are often
very altruistic which means, thinking of others needs before their own. It is very important for
the health workers to be altruistic when working with Ebola patients.
Since March, more than 1,600 people have been diagnosed with Ebola, and over half of
them have died. This is the biggest outbreak on record (“5 Questions about Ebola”). There are
currently two Americans that have been infected with the Ebola virus, and are in the United
States right now. They are at Emory Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia (Geisbert). The Americans
names are Dr. Kent Brantley and Nancy Writebol (Cohen, Shoichet, Stucker). Both Dr. Kent
and Nancy survived the virus. They were treated with a medicine called ZMapp. ZMapp is an
experimental drug that had not been proven to cure Ebola. They were the first to be treated, and
cured with the drug (“What Cured Ebola Patients Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol?”). Since
Ebola has no specific cure, and the ZMapp drug has not been proven successful 100% of the
time, doctors say that if the patients treatment before the virus gets too serious, they have a better
chance of surviving (“What Cured Ebola Patients Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol?”). Both
Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly were released from Emory, 100% free of the Ebola virus
(“Ebola Patients Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol discharged from hospital.”). Both Nancy and
Kent became infected with the virus in Liberia (“Ebola Survivor Nancy Writebol: All Doctors
Could Say Was ‘We Are So Sorry’”).
Recently there have been several more cases of Ebola in the United States. The first person
diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. was named Thomas Duncan. He did not become infected with
the virus in America, but in Liberia. Since it takes around 21 days to start noticing symptoms,
Duncan did not know that he had Ebola until he got into the United States (“Cases of Ebola
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Diagnosed in the United States”). He was officially diagnosed with Ebola on September 30,
2014, and died on October 8, 2014. Nina Pham, one of the nurses caring for Duncan, was
diagnosed with the virus on October 10, 2014. She survived the virus after being transferred to
different hospitals and being given special treatment. She was released from the National
Institutes for Health Clinical Center on October 24, 2014 (“Cases of Ebola Diagnosed in the
United States”). The most recent case was confirmed on October 24, 2014. This patient is
currently receiving treatment in a very secure isolation unit (“Cases of Ebola Diagnosed in the
United States”).
When a patient infected with Ebola is in an isolation unit, doctors and nurses take extreme
precaution. Hospital workers are specially trained and prepared for all different kinds of deadly
viruses. If the patient is vomiting and/or has bad diarrhea, the doctors will wear a special suit
called a Tyvek suit, which prevents any bodily fluids from getting on them. If the patient is not
experiencing those symptoms, they wear the basic gown, gloves, and mask (“Caring for the
American Ebola Patients: Inside Emory’s Isolation Unit”). “Caring for the American Ebola
Patients: Inside Emory’s Isolation Unit” says:
“The four patient bio containment Units in the United States have a combination of factor
to control the spread of infectious pathogens that are not found together in any other units
around the country. The air pressure is negative so that air flows from the hallway to the
anteroom to the patient room. The room is designed as an ICU so that patients with any
degree of illness can be safely cared for. The rooms have large anterooms and a biosafety
cabinet for specimen processing. The rooms have twenty air changes per hour so that all
infectious particles are rapidly removed. Air flow is laminar in nature, which means it
flows from the supply vent to the return with little potential for mixing. Air is HEPA [high
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efficiency particulate air] filtered before being exhausted.”
This means that any germs from the patients cannot escape the room from the air vents and
potentially infect more people.
Since it would be detrimental for septic companies, and dangerous for people if
contaminated waste came into their systems, hospitals with Ebola patients had to find a way to
decontaminate the patients’ waste. Doctors found that if they place a certain disinfectant in the
waste, it decontaminates it. After leaving the waste in the disinfectant for around five to ten
minutes, it is safe to be flushed (“Caring for the American Ebola Patients: Inside Emory’s
Isolation Unit”). After doctors go and treat the infected patients, they have to get rid of their
protective outerwear. They usually soak the equipment in a disinfectant, and then put it in an
incinerator. If they just threw the equipment away, it could possibly infect more people and/or
animals, and cause a bigger outbreak (“Caring for the American Ebola Patients: Inside Emory’s
Isolation Unit”).
According to the CDC, there is not yet a vaccine for Ebola approved by the FDA. Since
there is no vaccine, people traveling to places with many confirmed cases of Ebola need to be
very precautious (“Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease)”). There are several steps one can follow to help
prevent being infected with the virus. Avoid coming in contact with another person’s bodily
fluids. This can be key to staying healthy. Do not mess with medical items like needles, or items
used in medical centers like bedding, clothes, or other medical equipment (“Ebola (Ebola Virus
Disease)”). While attending a funeral, do not touch the body of the deceased if they died because
of Ebola. The body most likely is still infected with the virus. Do not eat raw meat of bats or
primates, or come in contact with any of their bodily fluids. African bats and primates are both
suspected of being carriers of the virus (“Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease)”). Unless a person is
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feeling sick or is volunteering, avoid going to medical centers where there are patients infected
with Ebola. Make sure that after return to monitor and check the health of the returning person
for the next twenty-one days. If symptoms of Ebola start to appear, go to a medical center
immediately (“Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease)”).
When someone is infected with Ebola, it does not just target one organ or part of the body.
So while getting treatment for Ebola, doctors just have to treat things as they appear. It is
extremely important that doctors and nurses provide the patient with intravenous fluids (IV). It is
also important that doctors keep a safe balance of electrolytes in the patient’s body (“Ebola
(Ebola Virus Disease)”). After the patient is cured of Ebola, they develop antibodies which help
them from getting the virus again. These specific antibodies are known to last for around ten
years. They can last longer than ten years, but it is rare for them to. It is unknown if patients
cured from the virus can regain a different subtype of Ebola, or if they are immune for the rest of
their lives (“Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease)”). After being cured, some patients have noticed
complications such as joint pain and vision problems (“Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease)”). An
experimental drug called ZMapp helped cure Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol when they
were infected with the virus. The reason why the current patients aren’t being treated with this is
because there have been very few tests to see if the drug is effective one-hundred percent of the
time. The manufacturer of the drug also said that all available doses of ZMapp have already been
distributed (“Questions and Answers on Experimental Treatments and Vaccines for Ebola”).
Overall, this is the worst Ebola outbreak ever known to mankind, but it has brought a great
deal of knowledge about the outbreak, and about how to cure it. Since November, the number of
patients has more than doubled from what it was with 13,015 people infected. The death toll has
also doubled to a total of 4,808 deaths from the virus (“Outbreaks Chronology: Ebola Virus
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Disease”). Each day, doctors and scientists are coming even closer to finding a cure for this
horrible virus. It is important that people understand the danger of this virus. After reading this
paper you now know where the virus came from, how it spreads, and how to prevent even more
future outbreaks.
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