Ebola Essay Example
Ebola Impact on Human Health & Hygiene Essay
Historically Ebola has had a serious impact on human health and hygiene and still does due to the fact of no vaccine or treatment being discovered, but thanks to improvements in scientific and medical knowledge the virus itself is now controllable.
Ebola is the virus Ebolavirus (EBOV), a viral genus, and the disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF). The virus is named after the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), which is near the site of the first recognized outbreak in 1976 at a mission hospital run by Flemish nuns. It has remained largely obscure until 1989 when several widely publicized outbreaks occurred among monkeys in the United States.
The virus interferes with the interior cells lining the surface of blood vessels and with blood clotting. As the blood vessel walls become damaged and destroyed, the platelets are unable to clot and patients fall into to hypovolemic shock. Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids, while conjunctiva exposure may also lead to transmission. There are five recognized species within the Ebolavirus genus, which have a number of specific strains. The Zaire virus is the type species, which is also the first discovered and the most lethal.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is potentially lethal and encompasses a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, generalized pain or malaise, and sometimes internal and external bleeding. The span of time from onset of symptoms to death is usually between 2 and 21 days. By the second week of infection, patients will either defervesce (the fever will lessen) or undergo systemic multi-organ failure. Mortality rates are typically high, with the human case-fatality rate ranging from 50 to 89%, depending on the species or viral strain. The cause of death is usually due to hypovolemic shock or organ failure.
Unfortunately there is no standard treatment for Ebola
Historically Ebola has had a serious impact on human health and hygiene and still does due to the fact of no vaccine or treatment being discovered, but thanks to improvements in scientific and medical knowledge the virus itself is now controllable.
Ebola is the virus Ebolavirus (EBOV), a viral genus, and the disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), a viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF). The virus is named after the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), which is near the site of the first recognized outbreak in 1976 at a mission hospital run by Flemish nuns. It has remained largely obscure until 1989 when several widely publicized outbreaks occurred among monkeys in the United States.
The virus interferes with the interior cells lining the surface of blood vessels and with blood clotting. As the blood vessel walls become damaged and destroyed, the platelets are unable to clot and patients fall into to hypovolemic shock. Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids, while conjunctiva exposure may also lead to transmission. There are five recognized species within the Ebolavirus genus, which have a number of specific strains. The Zaire virus is the type species, which is also the first discovered and the most lethal.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is potentially lethal and encompasses a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, generalized pain or malaise, and sometimes internal and external bleeding. The span of time from onset of symptoms to death is usually between 2 and 21 days. By the second week of infection, patients will either defervesce (the fever will lessen) or undergo systemic multi-organ failure. Mortality rates are typically high, with the human case-fatality rate ranging from 50 to 89%, depending on the species or viral strain. The cause of death is usually due to hypovolemic shock or organ failure.
Unfortunately there is no standard treatment for Ebola