Ebola Virus

[iGuest 3]

Has anyone ever heard of this terrible virus. It is closely related to Marburg, but more deadly. Ebola Zaire(one of the 3 subspecies of Ebola) kills 9/10 of the people that are infected with it. Anyways, most of the outbreaks have occured in africa and they still occur today. In fact, they just had an out break a few days ago in Sudan, and 200 people were killed in 2 days...

[redsox58 0]

Right now there is an outbreak of Marburg in Angola http://www.reuters.com/news

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/04050508ccelerates.html

Marburg is pretty bad too. If your interested in this stuff then read "The Hot Zone" its all about dealdy viruses but mainly the different Ebola strains. Its interesting how it orginated in monkeys but adapted for humans.

What it can do to a human body is disgusting, it basicaly liquifies your organs into a "black puke". They call it this because when you vomit it up its all hot and black. Some guy did this on a plan in Africa in the 70's. Its in the book, pretty interesting.

[iGuest 3]

Yeah, I've read it. Its an extrordinary book! I read it for 10th grade english, but I've heard its become a required read for 1st year medical students. It is a bit stomach wrenching though...

[Kyle Perkins 0]

I've never read The Hot Zone, but went and looked and discovered I have the book. I'll have to put it on my large "must read" list. Heh. Anyway, I hadn't heard of that particular strain of Ebola. Do you know anything about how common it is or any of it's symptoms? I'm just curious about it.Off topic, but I think one of these day's we're going to dredge up a really terrible virus in our burning of the deep rainforest. When will people learn...-Kyle

[jesuslovesgod 0]

i heard stories about this virus but i dont know anyone personally. i knew OF someone though and im not sure where they are at now but from what i heard, it was not something good

[miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG 0]

HotZone was an awesome book that gives you quite a different perspective of these ultramicroscopic protein threads that can wreak such havoc upon the world. It did make great reading and immediately after that I was off to surf for more info on Ebola.. Luckily for us, this virus seems have sanboxed itself in an intensely hot climate like that of Africa. I haven't heard much of this being transmitted to other nations. Otherwise we'd have looked at another worldwide epidemic.

[SoldatRevolution 0]

I'm in grade 8, do you think this book will be too hard for me?

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

HotZone was an awesome book that gives you quite a different perspective of these ultramicroscopic protein threads that can wreak such havoc upon the world. It did make great reading and immediately after that I was off to surf for more info on Ebola.. Luckily for us, this virus seems have sanboxed itself in an intensely hot climate like that of Africa. I haven't heard much of this being transmitted to other nations. Otherwise we'd have looked at another worldwide epidemic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, ebola (as it currently exists) will never be a worldwide epidemic precisely BECAUSE it is so virulent and deadly.

 

Ebola kills of populations too quickly to effectively spread, especially in the face of modern disease control methods.

 

The effect is sorta like an impact crater. Someone gets it and brings it to an area, it acts, and the original host and everyone nearby dies, but the killing happens to fast for continual spreading.

 

The danger is in mutation to a SLOWER acting and less deadly form.

[redsox58 0]

Or...AIDS

[iGuest 3]

Just because there will never be a world wide epidemic, it can still spread. Thats why Marburg, is called what is. There was an small break out in Marburg Germany.

[DingDong1405241487 0]

I’m currently a second year medical student at UCLA and Hot Zone was not a required read. From what I remember from my micro class Ebola and Marburg are from the same family of viruses (Filoviruses). They are enveloped negative strand RNA (genetic material like DNA in humans) viruses. Negative strand viruses must package with it enzymes needed to turn the –strand RNA to a +strand RNA before making proteins (humans go from DNA to +RNA to proteins). The envelope around the viruses is acquired from the virus when it buds out from the host cell taking along with it some of the host cell membrane. The importance of the envelope is that it contains the proteins on it for the virus to attach to another cell and infect it. These envelopes are made of cell membrane materials that are easily degraded by detergents or when out side the host organism, much like how HIV (also an envelope virus) can’t survive out side the human body for too long. The cause of the common cold, Rhinovirus, is non-enveloped and can survive outside the host for periods of time.There was some debate in my micro class as to weather or not Ebola was airborne or not. The PhD who taught the class told us that it wasn’t, and that the mode of transmission was via close contact with body fluids. While the clinician (MD) said that there does exist some strains that are airborne but don’t infect humans. HIV is also proposed to have started in monkeys but mutated to also infect humans. Keep in mind I took micro more then 6 months ago, so anyone can correct me if I’m wrong.

[spistols678 0]

hotzone is probably the best and only book that ive ever read i actually enojyed reading that bookebola is a bad virus, i cant imagine losing the skin of your tongue, that must hurt.

[iamrockandroll13 0]

The strain Ebola-Reston is the airborne strain of ebola. It was discovered in Reston, VA in monkeys that were imported from Africa. The cause for alarm was that anytime monkeys come in from africa, they are quarantined so that any monkeys with potentially fatal diseases like Ebola-Zaire die off. They are kept in individual cages. The reason the Ebola-Reston was discovered was because all the monkeys in the facility started dying of some sort of hemorhagic fever. They were afraid it was an airborne strain of Ebola or Lassa Fever that could infect humans. It turned out that, though it seemed to be identical to Ebola-Zaire, it caused no infection in humans. hence the new strain Ebola-Reston

[spistols678 0]

yea some guy even cut himself with a scapel that had the blood of an infected monkey on it and he didnt die.

[dzine 0]

Wow, this is serious virus, May they rest in peace.