Ebola outbreak: Five co-authors of latest study killed by virus before their research was published - Africa
The study, published on Thursday, discovered the virus has mutated many times during the outbreak in West Africa, making establishing a treatment more difficult. Mbalu Fonnie, Alex Moigboi, Alice Kovoma, Mohamed Fullah and Sheik Umar Khan worked with lead researchers at Harvard University to examine the current outbreak. Science Mag said all five were experienced members of the Kenema Government Hospital’s (KGH) Lassa fever team. Lassa fever infections have similar symptoms to Ebola. Their work sequenced the virus genomes from 78 patients and traced the outbreak in Sierra Leone to a funeral of a healer, which a pregnant Kenema Government Hospital Ebola patient and other women who were also infected had attended. Loading gallery See the Ebola outbreak mapped 1 of 5 Two months before his death, Mr Khan had described the dangers of treating people with the disease, telling Reuters he feared for his life.
Scientists found the origins of the Ebola outbreak — by tracking its mutations
One of the big mysteries in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is where the virus came from in the first place — and whether it's changed in any significant ways. These unanswered questions could be making it more difficult to diagnose the disease and find treatments. A new analysis could help show if Ebola is changing over time Now scientists are starting to get some answers. In a new paper in Science, researchers reveal that they have sequenced the genomes of Ebola from 78 patients in Sierra Leone who contracted the disease in May and June. Those sequences revealed some 300 mutations specific to this outbreak. The new analysis could help determine if the virus' behavior has changed — and provide information for future diagnostic tests and treatments. Among their findings, the researchers discovered that the current viral strains come from a related strain that left Central Africa within the past ten years. The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the worst on record.
Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
An epidemic of Ebola virus disease (EVD) is ongoing in parts of West Africa. It began in Guinea in December 2013 then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.[6] A few much smaller subsidiary outbreaks have occurred elsewhere, with outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal that appear to have been successfully contained,[7] and secondary infections of medical workers with very low case numbers in the United States and Spain,[8][9] neither of which is yet showing any signs of spreading in the general population. The current epidemic of EVD, caused by Ebola virus, is the most severe outbreak of Ebola since the finding of ebolaviruses in 1976,[13] and by September 2014 cases of EVD from this single outbreak exceeded the sum of all previously identified cases.[14] The epidemic has caused significant mortality, with a case fatality rate (CFR) reported as 71%.[6] Affected countries have encountered many difficulties in their control efforts. Epidemiology Outbreak Kenema Hospital, Sierra Leone Guinea Liberia
1976 Ebola outbreak
Infectious Disease Index - Ebola virus | MSDSonline
Ebola virus NAME: Ebola virus SYNONYM OR CROSS REFERENCE: African haemorrhagic fever, Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF, Ebola HF), filovirus, EBO virus (EBOV), Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), Sudan ebolavirus (SEBOV), Ivory Coast ebolavirus (ICEBOV), Ebola-Reston (REBOV), Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BEBOV), and Ebola virus disease (1, 2). CHARACTERISTICS: Ebola was discovered in 1976 and is a member of the Filoviridae family (previously part of Rhabdoviridae family, which were later given a family of their own based on their genetic structure). It is an elongated filamentous molecule, which can vary between 800 – 1000 nm in length, and can reach up to14000 nm long (due to concatamerization) with a uniform diameter of 80 nm (2-5). Five Ebola subtypes have been identified: Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), which was first identified in 1976 and is the most virulent; Sudan ebolavirus, (SEBOV); Ivory Coast ebolavirus (ICEBOV); Ebola-Reston (REBOV), and Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BEBOV) (1, 3, 8, 9). Outbreaks:
No, Seriously, How Contagious Is Ebola?
Holy moly! There's a case of Ebola in the U.S.! That first reaction was understandable. The Ebola case in Dallas is the first one diagnosed outside Africa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. But when you look at health officials responding to the case in Dallas, they seem cool as cucumbers, despite the initial misstep. "I have no doubt that we will control this importation, or case, of Ebola so that it does not spread widely in this country," said the director of the CDC, Dr. Why is Frieden so sure this virus won't spread beyond a handful of cases? It boils down to something called "R0." The reproduction number, or "R nought," is a mathematical term that tells you how contagious an infectious disease is. Take, for example, measles. At the other end of the spectrum are viruses like HIV and hepatitis C. And that brings us back to Ebola. Why is that? But in Ebola's case, the mode of transmission probably helps keep its R0 low. Then R0 drops to zero.
Outbreaks
Prognosis
Signs and symptoms
Ebola virus disease
Ebola virus disease (EVD; also Ebola hemorrhagic fever, or EHF), or simply Ebola, is a disease of humans and other primates caused by ebolaviruses. Signs and symptoms typically start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, sore throat, muscle pain, and headaches. Then, vomiting, diarrhea and rash usually follow, along with decreased function of the liver and kidneys. At this time some people begin to bleed both internally and externally.[1] The disease has a high risk of death, killing between 25 and 90 percent of those infected with an average of about 50 percent.[1] This is often due to low blood pressure from fluid loss, and typically follows six to sixteen days after symptoms appear.[2] Control of outbreaks requires coordinated medical services, alongside a certain level of community engagement. No specific treatment or vaccine for the virus is available, although a number of potential treatments are being studied. §Signs and symptoms §Cause
