Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
Madison Richmond (1st period)
Pathogen Background
Transmission
First line of defense
The first line of defense starts with basic and unspecific defense mechanisms. Elimination is a first defense, it causes diarrhea and vomiting; this tries to get the pathogen out of the body. The skin acts as a barrier for pathogens, Ebola gets into the body when there is a cut in this barrier.
The symptoms associated with this defense are
- abdominal pain
- diarrhea
- vomiting
- dehydration
Second line of defense
- fever
- red eyes
- rashes
- weight loss
- bruising
Acquired immune defense
- unexplained hemorrhaging
- bleeding from orifices
- coagulation deficiency
- internal bleeding
- rashes
- severe weight loss
- liver failure
- kidney failure
Treatment
A person who has survived Ebola has about a 10 year life span for their antibodies, this does not technically mean they cannot contract Ebola again but that they are much less likely to compared to someone who has not been infected. The memory cells help in this "immunity".
- After survival from Ebola it can remain in bodily fluids, such as semen of men.
- There have been about 30 outbreaks since 1976, each containing about 20,000 infected people and 10,000 deaths.
- Each case averages about a 50% fatality rate, the cases together average about a 25% to 90% survival rate.
- First outbreaks occurred in rural African villages near tropical rain forests.
Bibliography
"About Ebola Virus Disease." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 03 Nov. 2015. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
"Ebola Virus: How It Infects People, and How Scientists Are Working to Cure It." Science in the News. N.p., 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
Goodman, Philip. "How Does Ebola Kill You?" How Does Ebola Kill: What Ebola Virus Does to the Body. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
"Promising News on Experimental Ebola Vaccine." ABC News. ABC News Network, 2015. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
"Signs and Symptoms." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 02 Nov. 2014. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
"Treatment." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 July 2015. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
Zhang, Lei, Hao Wang, and Yi-qing Zhang. "Against Ebola: Type I Interferon Guard Risk and Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Combat Sepsis." Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B. Zhejiang University Press, Jan. 2015. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.