Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

Anderson Coates Michael Mastropole

Discovery

• • • • Three initial outbreaks 1976 in Sudan –

E. Sudan

1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo –

E. Zaire

1979 in Sudan –

E. Sudan

– Outbreak occurred in the same factory as first outbreak

Virus Strains

• 5 different strains –

E. Sudan

–

E. Zaire

–

E. Ivory Coast

• Only one confirmed case –

E. Reston

• Non pathogenic to humans –

E. Bundibugyo

Ebola virus

• • • Member of Filoviridae – Pleomorphic RNA virus Genome has seven open reading frames – Code for structural proteins, glycoproteins, nucleoproteins, and polymerase

Transmission

• Through blood to blood contact •Undersupplied and undertrained health care staff •Reusing needles and bloody gloves in hospitals

Natural Reservoir

• Currently unknown • Sub-Saharan Africa non-human primate population • Possibly local bat population

Symptoms (Days 1-10)

• Replication period • Inside the body’s monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells • No visible symptoms, but contagious

Symptoms (Days 11-14)

• Body recognizes infection and responds • fever, headache, muscle pain, conjunctivitis, and abdominal pain • Virus attaches to blood vessel walls

Symptoms (Days 15-19)

• Virus attacks connective tissue • Blood pools under skin • nausea, blood in vomit and diarrhea, and hemorrhaging from the mouth, nose, and other body openings • Hypovolemic shock causing death

Ebola Documentary Trailer

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0n5dLiBJ L8

Sources

• • • (2009). ViralZone. Retrieved Apr. 9, 2010, from Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Switzlerland. Web site: http://www.expasy.ch/viralzone/all_by_species/23.html

.

(2009). Questions and Answers about Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. Retrieved Apr. 8, 2010, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta,GA. Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/Spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola/qa.

htm.

(2010). Syndromic Surveillance as an Early Warning System for Biological Attacks. Retrieved Apr. 8, 2010, from Medscape CME. Web site: http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/456526_11 .