essayebola

Roberts, Joey

Mr. Haskell

World History

10 March 2005
Ebola Report

The virus known as Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever is the third deadliest disease in the world and there are many people who don�t know anything about the virus. While the lack of knowledge is a huge problem, it�s also important to know that many people are misinformed about the disease because of poor information in bad publications. In 1976 the first recognition of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever happened near the Ebola River located in Zaire, Africa. �The first outbreak of Ebola (Ebola-Sudan) infected over 284 people, with a mortality rate of 53%.� (http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/filo/history.html, March 7, 2005). The next virus that emerged was the Ebola-Zaire virus. �Of the 318 persons infected with Ebola virus in that 1976 outbreak, 88 percent died.� (Michael B.A. Oldstone, pg. 130). The last two subtypes of Ebola are Ebola-Reston (identified in 1989) and Ebola-Cote d�Ivoire (identified in 1994), appeared but did not have the causalities that Ebola-Sudan and Ebola-Zaire had. Ebola-Reston is the only subtype of the Ebola virus to not affect humans. So far it is just been found to affect non human primates such as monkeys. Only one person has been documented to have been infected with Ebola-Cote d�Ivoire and she did not die as a result of being infected with the virus. But non human primates, especially chimpanzees, have been infected and died because of the virus. �Of over 4000 blood samples collected from individuals in central Africa, 24 percent revealed prior infection with Ebola� (Michael B.A. Oldstone, pg. 135). Without knowing the original reservoir of Ebola, researchers can�t accurately predict how many humans could die from an Ebola outbreak. This fear of the unknown is why Ebola poses a true threat to all humans throughout the world and not just those who live in Africa.
There are three main reasons for the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus from non human primates to humans and then further from humans to humans. The spread of Ebola virus from non human primates, such as monkeys and chimpanzees, to humans can be attributed to man�s lack of knowledge, human mistakes and the transferring of infected animals to other areas. Lack of knowledge is a key reason because some incidents, in which a human got infected with the disease, happened because the person did not know the non human primate or the infected human had the Ebola disease. Without this knowledge there are no precautions taken to avoid infected blood. Human mistakes are a reason because, in some cases, a person contracts the disease by being touched with a dirty needle, touching infected blood with bad or no gloves on and even simply as mourning for a loved one at their bedside constantly touching the sick without proper clothing. Non human primates are at a disadvantage because it is possible that Ebola can be transferred through the air with them. �Even if Ebola is transmitted via the respiratory route to non human primates, humans may be resistant to the airborne/aerosol transmission of Ebola (may not have the right receptors).� (http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/filo/transmission.html , March 9, 2005) One of the easiest ways for Ebola to spread in the future might be the transfer of sick non human primates to other countries and infecting the animals in that country and the people who tend for the infected animals. The transferring of sick animals has happened before and that�s how the United States received its first Ebola virus scare.
Ebola virus hasn�t stuck its ugly head out into society since 1995 in Liberia when �A chief of a troop of 17 warriors, who was fighting in the Liberian civil war, contracted Ebola in Liberia.� (http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/filo/eboci.html , March 10 2005)
Calculating the time, it has been about nine and a half years since the chief contracted Ebola-Cote d�Ivoire and this fact is good and bad for people around the world, especially Africa. The good things about the nine and half year layoff is that no one has suffered from the horrible virus and it�s allowing scientists and researchers time to gather more knowledge about Ebola, with the hope of finding a cure for future outbreaks. The bad thing is that nine and half years is a long time and most people have completely forgotten that this lethal virus could pop up at any time. We hope that current scientists and researchers have not lightened up on their mission to better understand the past, present and future risks that Ebola represents. Right now it would be a safe educated guess that Ebola is not dead for the simple reason that no one has found the precise location of its birth and it�s safe to assume that if it broke out once, it�s likely to do it again. Since being famous and wealthy are key motivators for most human beings, it is a true hope that some researcher or scientist will never rest until he or she solves the mystery of Ebola. Any person who solves the Ebola disease will become internationally famous; make millions of dollars and save millions of lives.
The word Ebola is a noun that means �a severe and often fatal disease in humans and non human primates (monkeys and chimpanzees) caused by the Ebola virus; characterized by high fever and severe internal bleeding; can be spread from person to person; is largely limited to Africa� (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ebola , March 12, 2005) The disease was first recognized in 1976 at the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. This area is formerly known as Zaire, Africa. The virus was named after the Ebola River. Even though some sites publicize that the first occurrence was near the Ebola River, researchers have still not found the natural reservoir that feeds the River. Because of this the scientists have yet to create a reliable vaccination. One has been made by the researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute but it has not been consistent in curing laboratory animals with the disease. The Ebola disease has four different subtypes or strains of the disease each getting its name from where it was first recognized. The four different strains are Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Cote d�Ivoire and Ebola-Reston. In chronological order the four strains of Ebola appeared as follows: Ebola-Sudan on June 27, 1976, Ebola-Zaire on September 1, 1976, Ebola-Reston in 1989 and Ebola-Cote d�Ivoire in 1994. �Ebola virus has a mortality rate that ranges from 53% to 88% and due to its highly pathogenic nature, scientific research conducted on Ebola must be conducted in a bio-safety Level 4 laboratory (AIDS/HIV is a bio-safely Level 2 virus).� (http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/filo/filo.htm, March 12, 2005) �For those few who survive, convalescence usually takes two to five weeks and is marked by profound exhaustion and weight loss. Spontaneous abortions are common consequences of this infection, and infants born of mothers dying of the infection become fatally infected.� (Michael B.A. Oldstone, Pg. 133)
An obvious reasonable solution for Ebola hemorrhagic fever is to find a cure so that when another outbreak occurs, most likely in Africa, doctors have a medicine that can cure the sick so innocent people don�t die of the horrible disease and so that it doesn�t spread. It will take years for a cure to be found, but if researchers, scientists and doctors work harder to put the puzzle pieces together the world would have one less problem to deal with. Scientists are certainly challenged because many of the large puzzle pieces are still missing. Where is the natural reservoir for the Ebola River? Where are some infected patients that could provide valuable blood samples? Finding the natural reservoir would be huge and researchers are making more theories after conducting strenuous research on different caves and places in which Ebola has struck. Finding an infected patient for blood samples would be tragic for the person, but might provide the cure for the rest of the world. Technology has come so far in the past nine and a half years that an infected human blood sample would be priceless. Positive news has come out saying that �In December, a Purdue University science team presented new research that links Ebola with birds. According to the study, the outer protein shell of filo-viruses, such as Ebola, have a biochemical structure similar to retroviruses carried by birds, making a common evolutionary origin more likely.� (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0219_030219_ebolaorigin.html, March 13, 2005) The research done by the Purdue University science team is just another theory that has the potential to be a great breakthrough.
There have also been theories about rodents being the natural reservoir, primates such as chimpanzees or monkeys or bats being the natural reservoir. Going further with the birds being the natural reservoir theory, the research that has been presented has to set off an alarm in any reader�s head after they realize that if a bird has Ebola, there is no telling how far the bird could fly and ultimately spread the disease to. I have not done research into birds� flight patterns, but I don�t think the bird theory is valid because the disease has, for the most part, been associated with Africa and birds cover great distances, so why has the disease not spread to neighboring countries such as Spain or Italy?
I predict that we will find a cure for Ebola, but it won�t be before a major outbreak takes place in Africa having a mortality rate of 70% or more. The cure will come at the expense of this big outbreak because, while the doctors are treating the sick patients, many blood samples will be taken and sent to labs around the nation and the world to be studied. After months to years of studying and finding small cures, the total cure for Ebola will be reached. The 70% or more mortality rate is an educated guess and the mortality rate percentage won�t be of a small population, there will be a lot of people who died for the cure of Ebola. I say this because �Some scientists already worry that Ebola could mutate and become airborne. Recent outbreaks have suggested it can evolve on its own. All the Ebola subtypes have shown the ability to be spread through airborne particles under research conditions.� (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0219_030219_ebolaorigin.html , March 16, 2005) In my prediction I hope that the mortality rate doesn�t reach 90 or 95%. These numbers are very possible if Ebola mutates and becomes accessible through air molecules. This mutation would expose the entire human population, where the outbreak occurs, to certain death. Ebola should be publicized as a major threat to all humanity and brought out for the public eye to see so that people can, once again, beware and be aware of the dangers of Ebola. After such a long time without publicity, there is almost a whole new generation that needs to be educated about Ebola for the first time. Television, newspapers, books and research papers are just a few ways to raise the awareness about Ebola. Ebola can�t be ignored or the entire world will pay the price.