Ebola: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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Line 26: |MeshID=D019142}} '''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, a mission hospital run by [[Flemish people|Flemish]] [[nun]]s, in 1976.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bardi|first=Jason Socrates|year=2002|title=Death Called a River|journal=Scripps Research Institute|volume=2|issue=1|url=http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20020114/ebola1.html|accessdate=2006-12-08}}</ref> There are four recognized species within the ebolavirus genus, which have a number of specific [[strains]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ICTVdb/Ictv/fs_filov.htm|title=Filoviridae|accessdate=2009-10-04|last1=Netesov|first1=SV|last2=Feldmann|first2=H|last3=Jahrling|first3=PB|last4=Kiley|first4=MP|last5=Klenk|first5=H-D|last6=Sanchez|first6=A|date=2004-04-24|publisher=International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses}}</ref> The ''Zaire virus'' is the [[type species]], which is also the first discovered and the most lethal. Electron micrographs show long filaments, characteristic of the [[Filoviridae]] viral family. The virus interferes with the [[endothelial cells]] lining the interior surface of blood vessels and with coagulation. As the blood vessel walls become damaged and the platelets are unable to coagulate, patients succumb to [[Hypovolemia|hypovolemic shock]]. Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids, while [[conjunctiva]] exposure may also lead to transmission. Ebola first emerged in 1976 in Zaire. However, it remained largely obscure until 1989 when several widely publicized outbreaks among monkeys in the United States occurred Line 87: The virus has been confirmed to be transmitted through [[body fluid]]s. Transmission through oral exposure and through [[conjunctiva]] exposure is likely,<ref>{{Cite pmid|8551825}}</ref> which have been confirmed in non-human primates.<ref>{{Cite pmid|8712894}}</ref> Filoviruses are not naturally transmitted by aerosol. They are, however, highly infectious as breathable 0.8-1.2 micron droplets in laboratory conditions;<ref>{{Cite pmid|7547435}}</ref> because of this potential route of infection, these viruses have been classified as Category A biological weapons.<ref>{{Cite pmid|15588056}}</ref> All epidemics of Ebola have occurred in sub-optimal hospital conditions, where practices of basic hygiene and sanitation are often either luxuries or unknown to caretakers and where disposable needles and [[autoclave]]s are unavailable or too expensive. In modern hospitals with disposable needles and knowledge of basic hygiene and [[Universal precautions|barrier nursing]] techniques, Ebola has never spread on a large scale. In isolated settings such as a quarantined hospital or a remote village, most victims are infected shortly after the first case of infection is present. The quick onset of symptoms from the time the disease becomes contagious in an individual makes it easy to identify sick individuals and limits an ===Prevalence=== | |||