Ebola Virus ? Ebola was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo(1) ? Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. (2) ? Spread as a result of handling bush meat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats. (1) Ebola viruses are found in several African countries Transmission ? Most human infections result from direct contact with infected people or animals(1) ?
Only a few species of mammals (e. g. , humans, bats, monkeys, and apes) have shown the ability to become infected with and spread Ebola virus. Rapid Spreading Person-to-person transmission follows and can lead to large numbers of affected people. Signs and Symptoms The virus family Filoviridae The virus family Filoviridae includes 3 genera: Cuevavirus, Marburgvirus, and Ebolavirus. (2) ?
There are 5 species that have been identified: Zaire, Bundibugyo, Sudan, Reston and Tai Forest. ? The first 3, Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Zaire ebolavirus, and Sudan ebolavirus have been associated with large outbreaks in Africa. The virus causing the 2014 west African outbreak belongs to the Zaire species. (2) ? Cause of Death ? The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%.
Case fatality rates have varied from25% to 90% in past outbreaks. (2) ? Once people recover from Ebola, they can no longer spread the virus to people in the community. Identifying Ebola ? It can be difficult to distinguish EVD from other infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis. (2) Disease Distribution ? Because the natural reservoir host of Ebola viruses has not yet been identified, the way in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak is unknown. Environmental Attributes ? Ebola virus has officially moved beyond the continent of Africa.
Occupational Risks ? Because the Ebola virus is prevalent in developing countries the affected population are very poor but the virus does not discriminate. ? It would seem that most of the uppermiddle class exposure is to health care workers caring for the sick. Principal Gaps in Knowledge ? It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural Ebola virus hosts. Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest. (2).
Areas for Further Epidemiologic Research ? Beacause there is not a FDA approved vaccine for the Ebola virus there is great potential for epidemiologic research.
References ? 1. Cdc. gov. Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever | CDC. 2014. Available at: http://www. cdc. gov/vhf/ebola/. Accessed November 10, 2014. ? 2. Who. int. WHO | Ebola virus disease – website. 2014. Available at: http://www. who. int/csr/disease/ebola/en/. Accessed November 10, 2014. ? 3. Peters C, LeDuc J. An Introduction to Ebola: The Virus and the Disease. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 1999;179(s1):Six-xvi. doi:10. 1086/514322. ? 4. New England Journal of Medicine.
NEJM — Ebola Outbreak. 2014. Available at: http://www. nejm. org/page/ebola-outbreak. Accessed November 10, 2014. ? 5. Swoger B. Scholarly articles and other sources about the Ebola outbreak | Information Culture, Scientific American Blog Network. Blogsscientificamericancom. 2014. Available at: http://blogs. scientificamerican. com/informationculture/2014/09/29/scholarly-sources-and-reliable-news-sources-about-the-ebolaoutbreak/. Accessed November 10, 2014. ? 6. Sullivan N, Yang Z, Nabel G.
Ebola Virus Pathogenesis: Implications for Vaccines and Therapies. Journal of Virology. 2003;77(18):9733-9737. doi:10. 1128/jvi. 77.18. 9733-9737. 2003. ? 7. Chowell G, Nishiura H. Transmission dynamics and control of Ebola virus disease (EVD): a review. BMC Medicine. 2014;12(1):196. doi:10. 1186/s12916-014-0196-0. ?
8. Bausch D, Schwarz L. Outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in Guinea: Where Ecology Meets Economy. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 2014;8(7):e3056. doi:10. 1371/journal. pntd. 0003056. ? 9. Sis. nlm. nih. gov. Ebola Outbreak 2014: Information Resources. 2014. Available at: http://sis. nlm. nih. gov/dimrc/ebola_2014. html. Accessed November 10, 2014. ? 10. Nadakavukaren A. Our Global Environment. Long Grove, Ill. : Waveland Press; 2011.