Ebola Virus
By : Fizza Panjwani
Symptoms of Ebola
Causes of Ebola
What it does to your immune system
Targets several types of immune cells that represent the first line of defense. It infects dendritic cells,(which normally display signals of an infection on their surfaces to activate,) and T lymphocytes (the white blood cells that could destroy other infected cells before the virus replicates further.)The virus then starts to replicate immediately and quickly. It then works in part by inhibiting interferon—a type of molecule that cells use to hinder further viral reproduction. Ebola’s proteins, called VP24, then binds to and blocks a transport protein on the surface of immune cells that plays an important role in the interferon pathway.
How Ebola replicates
Ebola Virus does not replicate through any kind of cell division; rather, they use a combination of host and virally encoded enzymes, alongside host cell structures, to produce multiple copies of viruses. These then self-assemble into viral macromolecular structures in the host cell. The virus completes a set of steps when infecting each individual cell. This virus is harmless until it actually starts replicating.
It is a lysogenic cycle, but there is a trigger, and it enters the lytic cycle. ·
Viral genome gets incorporated into specific sites of host cell chromosome.
Viral genome replicates every time host nucleus divides.
· Host cell remains viable as long as the viral genome remains in this “temperate” state.
Treatment / Prevention
Find a specialized doctor, such as a Infectious Disease Doctor or a Critical Care doctor.
Don't come in contact with anyone.
Do NOT touch the blood or body fluids (like urine, feces, saliva, vomit, sweat, and semen) of people who are sick. Do NOT handle items that may have come in contact with a sick person's blood or body fluids, like clothes, bedding, needles, or medical equipment. Do NOT touch the body of someone who has died of Ebola.
Intravenous fluids- to help balance electrolytes.
Patients diagnosed with Ebola virus disease are placed in isolation in intensive care, where their blood oxygen levels and blood pressure are maintained at the right level and their body organs supported. They are also given a serum that destroys infected cells