“A virus responsible for a sever and often fatal hemorrhagic fever” (Medical guide volume II). Ebola is a deadly virus that affects the blood, skin, muscles, circulatory system and more. Ebola shows its signs and symptoms over time, treatment and research being discovered, reproductive system along with its nucleic acid, and a lot of history. Symptoms appear in a person 2-21 days of being infected with the virus. The Ebola virus begins to multiply as soon as it enters the body. Fever, sore throat, weakness, severe headaches, joint and muscle aches, diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, dry, hacking cough, and stomach pain are all signs of Ebola.
In some cases a rash, red eyes, hiccups, and external and internal bleeding can occur. In the second stage of Ebola the infected person begins to experience DIC or disseminated intravascular coagulation or blood lots and hemorrhaging. Death is often seen within two weeks of recognizing the symptoms due to the excessive blood loss, spontaneous hemorrhaging then kidney failure. The deadly virus, secondly, does not offer any positive treatment options. When the Ebola virus enters the body it begins producing proteins that overthrows the immune system allowing the viruses to reproduce without being hindered by any medication.
“There appears to be no known or standard treatment for Ebola fever. No chemotherapeutic or immunization strategies are available, and no antiviral drug has been shown to provide positive results, even under in vitro conditions (Medical guide volume II). During autopsies the virus has been successfully isolated using tissue from the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, kidneys, and heart. However isolating the virus from the brain and other nervous tissues has been unsuccessful. Next, Ebola goes through the lytic reproductions cycle.
The virus attaches to a host cell and forces its information into the cell that information takes over the reproductive system. The virus reproduces until the cell bursts and starts the cycle over again. Unlike the lysogenic cycle, the lytic cycle multiplies immediately and does not lie dormant. The Ebola virus is classified as a ribonucleic acid or an RNA virus. Lastly, history is an important component in the virus. Ebola gets its name from the Ebola River in northern Zaire, Africa. The Ebola virus was first recognized in 1976 when hundreds of deaths were recorded.
The virus continually has had many outbreaks in Africa. In 2003 there was an outbreak in the Congo in gorillas and chimpanzees. The people fled to hide from the disease. All in all, Ebola patients do not have much hope after symptoms show. The viral infection is fatal and remains hopeless for treatment. The signs and symptoms of Ebola come out over a short incubation period, treatment is unsuccessful however research is being done, the reproductive system along with its nucleic acid have been discovered, and history has been uncovered to educate about patterns in outbreaks.