The Ebola Virus
A virus is an ultramicroscopic infectious organism that, having no
independent metabolic activity, can replicate only within a cell of another host
organism. A virus consists of a core of nucleic acid, either RNA or DNA,
surrounded by a coating of antigenic protein and sometimes a lipid layer
surrounds it as well. The virus provides the genetic code for replication, and
the host cell provides the necessary energy and raw materials. There are more
than 200 viruses that are know to cause disease in humans. The Ebola virus,
which dates back to 1976, has four strains each from a different geographic area,
but all give their victims the same painful, often lethal symptoms.
The Ebola ...
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is actually what
kill victims of the Ebola virus. Hemorrhagic fever as defined in Mosby's
Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary as, a group of viral aerosol
infections, characterized by fever, chills, headache, malaise, and respiratory
or GI symptoms, followed by capillary hemorrhages, and, in severe infection,
oliguria, kidney failure, hypotension, and, possibly, death. The incubation
period for Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever ranges from 2-21 days (JAMA 273: 1748). The
blood fails to clot and patients may bleed from injections sites and into the
gastrointestinal tract, skin and internal organs (Ebola Info. from the CDC 2).
The Ebola virus has a tropism for liver cells and macrophages, macrophages are
cells that engulf bacteria and help the body defend against disease. Massive
destruction of the liver is a hallmark feature of Ebola virus infection. This
virus does in ten days what it takes AIDS ten years to do. It also requires
biosaftey level four containment, the ...
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in the genital secretions
for a brief period after. This makes it possible for the virus to be spread by
sexual contact. Complete recovery is reached only when no particles of the
virus are left in the body fluids, this however is rarely attained. The disease,
for humans, is not airborne, capable to be passed on through air travel, but for
nonhuman primates it has been a possibility in a few cases.
Ebola Zaire was identified in 1976 in Northern Zaire and was the first
documented appearance of the virus. This strain of the virus effects humans and
nonhuman primates. Close contact and dirty needles spread the Ebola virus. The
center of the epidemic in Zaire involved a missionary ...
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The Ebola Virus. (2007, March 30). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Ebola-Virus/62583
"The Ebola Virus." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 30 Mar. 2007. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Ebola-Virus/62583>
"The Ebola Virus." Essayworld.com. March 30, 2007. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Ebola-Virus/62583.
"The Ebola Virus." Essayworld.com. March 30, 2007. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Ebola-Virus/62583.
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