Ebola
Malcolm Wells
Which Body System is Affected by Ebola?
Ebola affects the immune system where it attacks the dendritic cell whose job is to alert the immune system of oncoming virus or diseases and the monocytes and macrophages which are white blood cells that have the job clear away foreign organisms.
Normal Body System vs. Infected Body System
When functioning properly, the immune system identifies and attacks a variety of threats, including viruses, bacteria and parasites, while identifying them from the body’s own healthy tissue. When Ebola attacks the immune system it hijacks the functions of certain defense warriors known as dendritic cells-whose job is to alert the immune system to the incoming threat. Other targets include monocytes and macrophages, types of white blood cells whose job is to absorb and clear away foreign organisms.
Who is Infected?
Ebola is mainly based in West Africa but does not only infect Africans, There have been 4 cases of Ebola in America. Ebola doesn’t affect people of a certain gender or age.
Onset
It is thought that the fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural hosts of Ebola.
But other tropical animals in Africa are believed to carry the virus include gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, porcupines, and forest antelope.Diagnosis
Signs and Symptoms
Ebola causes the immune system to go into overdrive.
Severe bleeding
Organ failure
Fever
Fatigue
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Headache
Sore Throat
Treatment
Oral rehydration therapy (drinking slightly sweetened and salty water).
There is no vaccine yet but a number of special treatments are being studied.
The patient hopefully has a strong immune system.
Prognosis (mortality rate and life expectancy)
Connections
I selected Ebola because the biggest outbreak ever has occurred in the past year. Ebola was on the news almost everyday for about 2 months or more so I wanted to learn more about it.
Works Cited
LiveScience. TechMedia Network. Web. 22 Jan. 2015. <http://www.livescience.com/>.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 06 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <http://www.cdc.gov/>.
"Ebola Virus Disease." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease>.
"Science News, Articles, and Information - Scientific American." Scientific American Global RSS. Web. 22 Jan. 2015. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/>.
"TeensHealth." TeensHealth. Web. 22 Jan. 2015. <http://teenshealth.org/>.
"WHO | World Health Organization." WHO | World Health Organization. Web. 22 Jan. 2015. <http://www.who.int/>.
"We've Got Answers." General Knowledge Questions and Answers – Kgb Answers. Web. 22 Jan. 2015. <http://www.kgbanswers.com/>.