Ebola

            In the late 1970's, the world was startled by a terrifying discovery of a new virus. Ebola Virus, burst from obscurity with spectacular outbreaks of severe hemorrhagic fever. From the virus family Filoviridae, the Ebola virus is one of the most virulent viral diseases known to mankind causing death in 50-90% of its victims (Peter and Ledue, 1). Transmitted via monkey to human, the Ebola virus has come from deep within the jungles of Africa and has attacked with enough fury to potentially wipe out civilizations. So how do we stop it? In order to completely understand how the virus functions and eventually destroy it, we need to determine the cause of its existence, from where exactly it originated from, and most importantly from what organism.
             Genetic analyses indicate that there are at least four distinguishable subtypes of Ebola virus: Ebola Zaire, Sudan, Reston and Cote d" Ivoire. Between June 1976 and July 1996 approximately 1,500 cases with a little over 1,000 deaths have been documented since the virus was discovered. This is excluding the most recent incident in the Autumn of 2000 when an outbreak occurred in northern Uganda (1).
             The effects of Ebola on the human body are so terrifying they seem like a scene out of a horror movie. Symptoms may begin anywhere from 2-21 days after initial contact. The Ebola virus attacks every component of the human body. During the primary stages of infection, all blood in the body clots resulting in the clogging of capillaries. Once the capillaries are blocked, the supply to essential organs is thwarted. Victims experience necrosis in these organs, including the liver, lymphatic organs, kidneys, ovaries and testis. Following this, an onset of vomiting and diarrhea which is later followed by excessive bleeding. Every orifice of the victim begins to bleed, including mouth, tear duct, nipples, and vagina. He/she will bleed internally as well as externally, including mucosa, the stomach and intestines.