Chase Toth

Professor Matt Badtke

11/28/14

Microbiology

Ebola virus

Microbial life has existed longer than anything else on Earth. In just one teaspoon of soil,

there can exist up to approximately a billion or more microbes; and in that little bit of soil, can

include: Bacteria, Fungi, and/or even Algae. We are surrounded by billions of microbes every

day. Some are pathogenic but some are nonpathogenic. For example, there are non-pathogenic

microbes in your gastrointestinal tract that help you breakdown and digest food. But there are

also pathogenic microbes that can harm or cause illness.

A perfect example of a pathogenic microbe, is the Ebola virus. Its a part of the

Filoviridae family, which is a viral family of RNA viruses. The virus is usually characterized by

their long, thin filaments. Its also called Ebola because it was first discovered in the Ebola

River, which is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but there are different strains and some

of them are found in different areas. The virus causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and for those

that contract the virus can have serious or fatal effects. Some of the signs and symptoms are:

fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and

unexplained hemorrhaging. The symptoms can occur after 2 days of exposure or can take up to

21 days after exposure to the virus. What basically happens is, it damages the endothelial cells,

which are the cells that make up the lining of blood vessels. This effects the coagulation of the

blood. Coagulation is the clotting of blood, so if your blood cant clot then youll obviously lose
some of it. The vessels will eventually become more and more damaged and the infected person

will then go into a hypovolemic shock, in which they lose lots of fluids and blood.

Ebola is usually transmitted through physical contact with infected person/animal and/or

through their bodily fluids. It was founded that Ebola was spread through infected primates and

not through its natural host, which is a certain type or species of fruit bats. There is no evidence

yet that any other animals can transmit Ebola, or that it can be transmitted by airborne,

waterborne or foodborne particles unless exposed to infected person or their bodily fluids. The

virus is usually spread from an individual that interacted with something infected, and then their

family or people within their proximity or that come in contact with them. But its highly

unlikely that Ebola will become an epidemic, mainly because the virus kills its victim so quickly

and usually occurs in isolated areas, so it wouldnt be able to spread very far. But a major

setback is that, Ebola outbreaks are often mistreated and misdiagnosed for other illnesses such as

influenza or other infections due to that some of the symptoms are similar, which can cause the

spread of the Ebola virus unless we follow protocols and carefully examine patients.

There is currently no treatment for the Ebola virus but there are preventative precautions

that can be taken in order to help patients and other people in their environment. Currently,

infected individuals are treated for their symptoms, but their immune system has to fight the

virus on its own. Some of the treatments used are: administering IV fluids, in order to replenish

electrolytes, using breathing devices to maintain oxygen levels, medications to help fever, blood

clotting, blood pressure, preventing infections through antibiotics, and lastly, keeping the

environment as clean as possible to reduce the risk of the virus spreading. The protocols that

healthcare workers follow are: wear personal protective equipment, practice proper infection

control and sterilization, isolate patients with Ebola, avoid unprotected contact with infected
person(s) whether dead or alive, and notify officials if you have come in contact with blood or

bodily fluids. And although there is no vaccine yet, the United States is currently and

extensively researching Ebola and trying to create one.

Research on the Ebola virus and trying to create a vaccine has been a high priority

especially with the rising numbers of infected and a couple of infected within the U.S. The

Vaccine Research Center is in collaborations with Okairos, which is a Swiss-Italian biotech

company and are trying to create a vaccine. Its a chimpanzee adenovirus vector, which means it

contains DNA genes within it in order to carry it into a cell. Its a vaccine thats not infectious

and enters the cell, delivers the genes by insertion, and doesnt replicate any further. The gene

creates a protein that makes an immune response. Yet its still being tested on primates and

hasnt been implemented. But that is just one method of one company amongst many. The

National Institution of Allergies and Infectious Disease (NIAID) is supporting many of the

companies. But another company is trying to create a vaccine by using recombinant adenovirus

vector. Except they want it to be a vaccine that is based on the rabies vaccine so that they can use

the vaccine on humans and animals in order to stop the spread/ cure the disease. NIAID is also

supporting BioCryst Pharmaceuticals that is developing a broad-spectrum antiviral, which will

vaccinate many viruses/diseases, including Ebola. But they also concluded that Ebola isnt

completely curable, that they would have to administer booster shots, which help the immune

system update its defenses against the virus. So currently the Ebola pandemic is a high

priority for many countries, and research is developing very quickly, so it is very doubtful that

this issue will become an epidemic.

 Works Cited Page

"Ebola Virus." - MicrobeWiki. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.

"Signs and Symptoms." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 2 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014

"Prevention." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2014

"Ebola/Marburg." Research. Web. 29 Nov. 2014

"Rapid and Durable Protection against Ebola Virus with New Vaccine Regimens." ScienceDaily.

Web. 29 Nov. 2014