Half Evil
Golden Master
- Messages
- 16,076
The first electronmicrograph of Ebola was obtained on October 13th, 1976 by a Dr. F.A. Murphy working at the CDC. Ebola shows to have the filamentous structure of a filovirus. The first discovered strain is the Ebola-Zaire. Per epidemic there is about a 90% fatality rate. And there are more of those epidemics or outbreaks then any other strain. The first outbreak taking place on August 26th, 1976 in Yambuku, a town in northern Zaire, hence the name. A 44 year old school teacher just returning from a trip around northern Zaire, was examined at a hospital run by Belgian nuns. His high fever was diagnosed as a possible Malaria case; given a quinine shot, and sent home. Only a week later, his sudden symptoms included uncontrolled vomiting, severe diarrhea, headache, dizziness, and trouble breathing; later bleeding from nose mouth, and rectum. Death, September 8th, 1976, roughly 14 days hence. Although other symptoms include muscle/joint aching, fatigue, nausea, and dizziness.
The next strain discovered being Sudan, and the next outbreak occurred in the cities of Nzara, Maridi, and Sudan. First case being a worker who had been exposed to the potential reservoir at the local cotton factory. The “hosts†ranging from spiders, to insects, rats and bats. Testing in the factory proved positive of the disease, although the natural reservoir is unknown even today.
To explain further more, a reservoir in this case is not a body of water. The reservoir is the place on earth that is believed to “host†the virus. And a host is a an animal that is immune to the effects of the virus. Because if the host died of the virus, it would not be able to spread easily, or even at all. A few reasons that support the fruit bat theory is that Ebola outbreaks occur during the “dry seasonâ€, and during the dry season, a fruit bats immune system changes. And as they are known to harbor the newly discovered Nipah virus (which shows symptoms such as a deadly high fever just like Ebola, as well as the Marburg and Sars virus. Also, traces of the virus are found to be in the animals liver and spleen. Two vital parts specifically targeted by Ebola. These bats' modified immune systems are only speculation, not yet fully understood.
The last strain to be discovered would be Reston. Discovered in November 1989 (exact date unknown), in a group of 100 Cynomolgus Macaque Monkeys imported from Ferlite Farms in Mindano, Philippines to Hazelton Research Products Prime Quarantine Unit in Reston, Virginia only a mere 10 miles from Washington DC. But all were safe, because this strain happens to be highly lethal to monkeys, although, no human illness. Six of the monkey handlers tested positive for the virus, but none further then the testing – No symptoms. Thus no human illness regarding Reston.
There is one other mysterious strain of Ebola known as several different things. Commonly known as Côte d'Ivoire Ebola Virus or Ivory Coast Ebola. There has only been two cases of this. 1994, Tai Forest, Cote d'Ivoire, and 1995, Liberea. Both cases were survived, and sense then, never a reappearance. And actually, this strain has absolutely nothing to do with Cynomolgus Macaque Monkeys, but chimpanzees. The story behind this, is a large group of chimpanzees were dying, and ethologists went out to find the root of the problem. They first found, after conducting a necropsy of a 13-year-old and 45-month-old chimpanzee, that the blood within the heart was noncoagulated and brown. And tissues were taken from the 45-month-old chimp, and the rib cage was full of blood, with her lungs dark red. Both symptoms of Ebola. The chimpanzees tested positive for Ebola. And it was concluded that mere touching was not a risk factor. Because they were taking care of other sick chimpanzees, with no problems. Later discovered, that the problem originated from the consumption of Western Red Colobus Monkey meat; their main source of food. But, the first known human incident happened during the necropsy. A 34-year-old female ehologist was performing the necropsy on a chimpanzee found November 16, 1994. She contracted Ebola, presumably from the necropsy. No wounds or punctures were reported, but she was wearing badly worn household latex gloves. The transmission resulted from direct contact with the blood of the chimpanzee by projection droplets onto the face. Eight days after the performance of the necropsy she was diagnosed with EHF (Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever). She admitted herself to the Abidjan hospital, she received rigorous treatment of fluid and electrolyte replacement. Despite the sub-optimal hospital conditions and the lack of strict containment measures, there was no secondary transmission. Thus supporting the theory that Ebola is not respiratory/aerosol transmitted and that transmission requires direct contact with the patients bodily fluids. After 15 days of care, she was discharged; not recovering fully until 6 weeks of the infection.
Among humans, Ebola in general is transmitted by direct contacts to body fluids, most commonly blood. The incubation period is 2 to 21 days, and symptoms vary. But as with the Zaire victim,symptoms can be swift and harsh; appearing suddenly. Ebola is easily mistaken for Malaria, Typhoid fever and dysentery, also associated with various bacterial infections. From dawn of the symptoms to death (commonly from shock or vital organ failure, even loss of blood), is usually 7-14 days.
Because of the rarity of this disease, there is no certainty of all possible transmission paths. And though easily demonstrated in a laboratory with monkeys, never has there been a documented case of airborne transmission with a human epidemic. But one thing is certain: all epidemics have occurred in sub-optimal hospital conditions, where practices of basic sanitation are ignored or unknown. In all modernized hospitals with luxury amenities such as disposable needles, and barriers Ebola has never spread on a large scale such as an epidemic.
Some recent efforts have produced a vaccine for both Ebola and Marburg (same characteristics as Ebola), have been 100% effective in protecting monkeys. Not yet has any human testing been announced for any filovirus vaccines. Although, intensive supportive care is needed. As most patients can become dehydrated often, and in need of intravenous fluids or oral re-hydration. Blood serum from Ebola survivors has ben shown to be ineffective in treating the virus. But as testing for Ebola is “an extreme biohazard risk, and are only conducted under maximum biological containment conditionsâ€, scientists have included non-invasive methods of diagnosis, such as saliva and urine samples.
People tend to think that this virus kills so fast, there is no time to spread the virus. This is false, as the incubation time is rather long at 2-21 days. So you could walk around with the virus for up to three weeks, before you had any idea of the problem, thus having plenty of time to spread the virus. Even after contracting the fatal case of Ebola Zaire, you could live for up to five weeks. The visual media reguard this virus as horrifying beyond belief, messy with squirting blood, liquefying flesh, and projectile vomiting. This too, is not the case. Only a small percentage of victims acquire severe bleeding. Most only obtain aches and pains, like a bad case of the flu. Although, regardless of what is said, it is still a horrifying thought to die in such a way. And still incredibly painful.
The following is a quote from an interview between Ed Regis with Philippe Calain, M.D. Chief Epidemiologist, CDC Special Pathogens Branch, Kikwit in 1995: “At the end of the disease the patient does not look, from the outside, as horrible as you can read in some books. They are not melting. They are not full of blood. They're in shock, muscular shock. They are not unconscious, but you would say 'obtunded', dull quiet, very tired. Very few were hemorrhaging. Hemorrhage is not the main symptom. Less than half of the patients had some kind of hemorrhage. But the ones that bled, died.â€
Though it seems not-so-bad now. But, the case-to-death ratio is baffling. Sense the first reported case in 1976, up through 2004, there have been 1848 cases with 1287 of them fatal. That would be a fatality rate of nearly 70%. The closest to that would be the Bird Flu, that was up to 70%, then drastically dropping to 35%.
And thats it. Criteque if you like. And just to let you all know, IM NOT DONE
So, expect improvments.
UPDATED
) tell me, otherwise i got damn finals next week...