Characteristics of ebola
How would you describe Ebola?
Ebola is a virus that causes problems with how your blood clots. It is known as a hemorrhagic fever virus, because the clotting problems lead to internal bleeding, as blood leaks from small blood vessels in your body. The virus also causes inflammation and tissue damage.
What is unique about the Ebola virus?
Ebola is transmitted only through direct contact with bodily fluids, as are HIV and Hepatitis C. Other diseases, such as measles and SARS, are transmitted through airborne means.
What is the classification of Ebola?
Ebolaviruses belong to the Filoviridae family and Ebolavirus genus in the Baltimore V classification system.
What is the main cause of Ebola?
Scientists do not know where Ebola virus comes from. Based on similar viruses, they believe EVD is animal-borne, with bats or nonhuman primates being the most likely source. Infected animals carrying the virus can transmit it to other animals, like apes, monkeys, duikers and humans.
What does Ebola virus look like?
Under an electron microscope, it looks like a harmless shepherd’s crook or a scheerio with a long tail, but it can decimate the human immune system in a matter of days and cause death within three weeks. Rare, but deadly, Ebola is a filovirus, one of four distinct families of hemorrhagic fever viruses.
Can you survive Ebola?
In most cases, people who have completely recovered from EVD do not become reinfected. However, many survivors suffer from health issues after recovery from Ebola. The most commonly reported complications are: Tiredness.
What is Ebola and how is it spread?
Ebola is spread by direct contact with blood or other body fluids (such as: vomit, diarrhea, urine, breast milk, sweat, semen) of an infected person who has symptoms of Ebola or who has recently died from Ebola.
How many people died from Ebola?
Does Ebola still exist?
The outbreak was declared over on June 19, 2021. The DRC government declared a new Ebola outbreak in Mbandaka, Équateur Province of western DRC on June 1, 2020. International partners, including CDC, provided technical assistance to the DRC government to support response efforts.
What are the prevention of Ebola?
Avoid contact with blood and body fluids (such as urine, feces, saliva, sweat, vomit, breast milk, amniotic fluid, semen, and vaginal fluids) of people who are sick. Avoid contact with semen from a man who has recovered from EVD, until testing shows that the virus is gone from his semen.
How is Ebola treated?
Supportive Care
- Providing fluids and electrolytes (body salts) orally or through infusion into the vein (intravenously).
- Using medication to support blood pressure, reduce vomiting and diarrhea, and to manage fever and pain.
- Treating other infections, if they occur.
Who is most at risk for Ebola?
People most at risk are those who care for infected people, such as aid workers, or those who handle their blood or body fluid, such as hospital workers, laboratory workers and family members.
What type of vaccine is Ebola?
The Ebola virus vaccine
ERVEBO is a replication-competent, live, attenuated recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) vaccine manufactured by Merck. It is not possible to become infected with EBOV from the vaccine because the vaccine only contains a gene from the Ebola virus, not the whole virus.
What pathogen causes Ebola?
Ebola is caused by viruses in the Ebolavirus and Filoviridae family. Ebola is considered a zoonosis, meaning that the virus is present in animals and is transmitted to humans.
How long does Ebola last?
The average is 8-10 days. Symptoms are: Fever. Fever is usually the first symptom.
How does Ebola affect the body?
Ebola is a rare but deadly virus that causes fever, body aches, and diarrhea, and sometimes bleeding inside and outside the body. As the virus spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs. Ultimately, it causes levels of blood-clotting cells to drop. This leads to severe, uncontrollable bleeding.
Is there an antibiotic for Ebola?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ebanga (Ansuvimab-zykl), a human monoclonal antibody, for the treatment for Zaire ebolavirus (Ebolavirus) infection in adults and children. Ebanga blocks binding of the virus to the cell receptor, preventing its entry into the cell.
Where is Ebola most common?
Where is Ebola most commonly found? Since 1976, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has had the most Ebola outbreaks. Most outbreaks begin in remote areas. Experts theorize that heavy forested areas containing infected fruit bats may be to blame for the multiple outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
What organ does Ebola affect?
In addition to the immune system, EBOV attacks the spleen and kidneys, where it kills cells that help the body to regulate its fluid and chemical balance and that make proteins that help the blood to clot.
What are the stages of Ebola?
There are typically three phases of illness, starting with a few days of non-specific fever, headache, and myalgia, followed by a gastrointestinal phase in which diarrhoea and vomiting, abdominal symptoms, and dehydration are prominent.
What are the long term effects of Ebola?
For some, surviving wasn’t the end of their challenges. Many of the recent epidemic’s 16,000+ Ebola survivors suffer from chronic, long-term health problems including headaches, joint pain, and eye problems caused by Ebola. Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes these after-effects.
Does Ebola have DNA?
Ebola virus contains a type of genetic material called RNA, which is similar to DNA and contains the blueprint for assembling new virus particles. Unlike animals and plants, which also use DNA as a repository of information, viruses are not technically alive because they are incapable of replicating without help.