HEROnlysIN
23-06-2005, 19:35
[quote="Harbinger of Death":y6aswxvd]Η δεξιά φωτό από το sig του HEROnlysIN είναι από μια τα αποτελέσματα μιας αρρώστειας στην αφρική που είχε ξεκληρίσει πολύ κόσμο, παρεμπιπτόντως. Την έχω δει κι αλλού.
ante,mia fora akoma kai tha thymasai na to grafeis sosta :wink:[/quote:y6aswxvd]
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/health/
^^diseases in africa
http://www.e-telescope.gr/images/support/04/Smallpox/biohazard.gif
Τι είδους βλάβες προκαλεί ο ιός του Έμπολα;
Δευτέρα 21 Μαρτίου 2005 14:11 [Σχόλια: 12, Hits: 1]
Ο ιός του Έμπολα καταστρέφει εκτεταμένες περιοχές ιστών του ανθρώπινου σώματος.
Αρχικά παρουσιάζεται μια απλή φλεγμονή, με κοκκίνισμα των περιοχών που προσβλήθηκαν. Στη συνέχεια οι ιστοί "λιώνουν" κι αρχίζει η πιο εντυπωσιακή φάση της ασθένειας: ο ασθενής χάνει αίμα από τα μάτια, τη μύτη και το στόμα. Ο ιός του Έμπολα δεν προσβάλλει όλα τα κύτταρα του σώματος αλλά μόνο εκείνα του ενδοθηλίου, μιας λεπτής μεμβράνης που επενδύει κοιλότητες και διάφορα όργανα, όπως την καρδιά και τα αγγεία. Η παρουσία του ενδοθήλιου σ' ολόκληρο το σώμα εξηγεί την ταχύτητα εξάπλωσης του ιού. Η κατάσταση επιδεινώνεται με το ανοσοποιητικό σύστημα, το οποίο, στην προσπάθειά του να σκοτώσει τα προσβεβλημένα κύτταρα, προκαλεί γενική φλεγμονή. Στα τελικά στάδια οι βλάβες επεκτείνονται σε όλους τους ιστούς του σώματος.
http://www.e-telescope.gr/images/support/04/Smallpox/embola.gif
pliroforiaka:
The Seven Deadly Diseases:
Number one is Heart Disease
Number two is Cancer
Number three is Stroke
Number four is Diabetes
Number five is Osteoporosis
Number six is Arthritis
Number seven is Alzheimer's
African Sleeping Sickness
Impact
African sleeping sickness is a parasitic infection caused by a species of parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of the tsetse fly.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/uniramia/tsetse.gif/img] It threatens more than 60 million people in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, 22 of which are among the least developed countries in the world. Between 300,000 and 500,000 people are estimated to suffer from the disease. With early diagnosis, the chance of recovery from African sleeping sickness is good. However, most people who have the disease die before it is ever diagnosed. There are no effective vaccines, and the drugs used to treat this disease are difficult to administer and often toxic. Only 10% of persons at risk are under surveillance, so most cases are only detected when the individual is very ill and possibility of recovery is low.
Symptoms
A bite by the tsetse fly is often painful and can develop into a red sore, also called a chancre. Initially, parasites multiply in the blood, causing a litany of non-specific symptoms, such as fever, severe headache, extreme fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and aching muscles and joints. In the second phase of disease, the parasites infect the central nervous system resulting in irreversible neurological damage manifested by confusion, personality changes, difficulty walking, sleep disturbance, and eventually coma and death.
SBRI's Role
Scientists at SBRI have begun to identify new targets for drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tools for African sleeping sickness and other related diseases. Scientists at SBRI discovered that, contrary to previous expectations, RNA editing - a unique form of control of protein production - is essential for the survival of the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei. Investigators have demonstrated the ability to disrupt this process by blocking production of a selected enzyme.
Kenneth Stuart, Ph.D., investigates the biological mechanics of parasites in order to identify new targets for drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics. He is examining a novel genetic regulatory system in T. brucei. A second major effort is to determine the genome of the parasite so that a comprehensive study of biological mechanisms can be conducted.
Marilyn Parsons, Ph.D., studies a sub-cellular compartment of T. brucei, specifically how the proteins that are critical to the parasite’s survival move within the cell. By exploring cellular and molecular life functions, it is possible to find key differences between the host and the parasite, thereby opening new avenues for treatment.
Peter Myler, Ph.D., is determining the function of a regulatory gene that may be a potential drug target. He also directs the genome sequencing effort to identify new targets for drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics.
Links
WHO African sleeping sickness fact sheet
CDC African sleeping sickness fact sheet
Malaria / Elonosia
Impact
Malaria is the world’s most important tropical parasitic disease and is transmitted through the bite of female mosquitoes. There are four species of the parasite that cause malaria in humans. One of these, Plasmodium falciparum, causes the majority of infections and can lead to death if left untreated. In 2001, an estimated 1.5-2.7 million deaths were the result of malaria and most of deaths occurred in children under five years old. Each year, 300-500 million new cases occur globally. Nearly 40% of the world's population lives in affected regions. Despite over a century of work to control or eradicate this disease, malaria continues to take its devastating toll, largely in developing nations. The emergence of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and drug-resistant malarial parasites has made the situation much worse.
Malaria is a complex disease that affects different organs and tissues and takes different forms. Severe malaria of childhood can present as severe malaria anemia (extremely low red blood cell numbers) or cerebral malaria (deep coma). Non-immune adults are susceptible to both the these complications, in addition to multi-organ failure. A particularly severe form of malaria occurs only in pregnant mothers due to infected erythrocyte sequestration in the placental that harms both mother and fetus.
Symptoms
Malaria is characterized by fever, shivering, pain in the joints, headache and repeated vomiting. The parasite lives in red cells and eventually ruptures them, creating anemia. Severe anemia is often the cause of death in areas with intense malaria transmission. If left untreated, the disease progresses to severe malaria and results in convulsions and coma. Severe malaria often causes death if there is no treatment.
SBRI's Role
Malaria has long been the subject of intense work at SBRI. Study of this complex parasite has led SBRI researchers to fundamental discoveries of the genetic framework and molecular biology of the most virulent malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. As part of a broad and global initiative to fight malaria, SBRI has embarked on an aggressive program to identify new gene targets for developing effective malaria vaccines to boost the human immune system. This Malaria Antigen Discovery Program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, uses the very latest technologies and scientific insight to discover, analyze, and select potential breakthrough vaccine candidates. The program is designed to identify parasite molecules that will be good targets for vaccine development. The program relies on emerging technologies for genome-wide analysis and the recently completed genomic DNA sequence of P. falciparum.
Patrick Duffy, MD., is focused on development of vaccines against malaria, with special attention to mitigating disease symptoms in pregnant women.
Jean Feagin, Ph.D., studies gene expression in the malaria parasite. Her lab is examining subcellular compartments, and the ribosome as possible drug intervention sites.
Stefan Kappe, Ph.D., is focused on the pre-erythrocytic stages of malaria in the human host. Dr. Kappe comes to SBRI from New York University where he was an assistant professor researching blood and liver state malaria, and joined SBRI's Malaria Antigen Discovery (MAD) Program in the fall of 2003.
Joseph D. Smith, Ph.D. is focused on the investigation of potential targets for malaria vaccines. His lab's major emphasis is on understanding the function and pathogenic role of various proteins in Plasmodium falciparum.
Links
WHO Malaria World Health Organization - General information and statistics
CDC Malaria Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - General information and statistics
Roll Back Malaria A partnership working worldwide to halve the burden of malaria by 2010.
Malaria Foundation International A global network to facilitate development and implementation of solutions to malaria-caused problems.
Seattle Malaria Group (SMG) approximately 50 members both internal and external to SBRI
Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
What is Ebola hemorrhagic fever?
Electron micrograph of Ebola virus.
[img]http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/images/pathimag/ebola_em.gif
Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) is a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976.
The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) in Africa, where it was first recognized. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae. There are four identified subtypes of Ebola virus. Three of the four have caused disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, and Ebola-Ivory Coast. The fourth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.
Where is Ebola virus found in nature?
The exact origin, locations, and natural habitat (known as the "natural reservoir") of Ebola virus remain unknown. However, on the basis of available evidence and the nature of similar viruses, researchers believe that the virus is zoonotic (animal-borne) and is normally maintained in an animal host that is native to the African continent. A similar host is probably associated with Ebola-Reston which was isolated from infected cynomolgous monkeys that were imported to the United States and Italy from the Philippines. The virus is not known to be native to other continents, such as North America.
Where do cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever occur?
Confirmed cases of Ebola HF have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Sudan, the Ivory Coast, Uganda, and the Republic of the Congo. An individual with serologic evidence of infection but showing no apparent illness has been reported in Liberia, and a laboratory worker in England became ill as a result of an accidental needle-stick. No case of the disease in humans has ever been reported in the United States. Ebola-Reston virus caused severe illness and death in monkeys imported to research facilities in the United States and Italy from the Philippines; during these outbreaks, several research workers became infected with the virus, but did not become ill.
Ebola HF typically appears in sporadic outbreaks, usually spread within a health-care setting (a situation known as amplification). It is likely that sporadic, isolated cases occur as well, but go unrecognized. A table showing a chronological list of known cases and outbreaks is available.
How is Ebola virus spread?
Infections with Ebola virus are acute. There is no carrier state. Because the natural reservoir of the virus is unknown, the manner in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak has not been determined. However, researchers have hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/images/ebohosp.jpg
Treating patients with Ebola HF during outbreak of the disease in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1995.
After the first case-patient in an outbreak setting is infected, the virus can be transmitted in several ways. People can be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. Thus, the virus is often spread through families and friends because they come in close contact with such secretions when caring for infected persons. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
Nosocomial transmission refers to the spread of a disease within a health-care setting, such as a clinic or hospital. It occurs frequently during Ebola HF outbreaks. It includes both types of transmission described above. In African health-care facilities, patients are often cared for without the use of a mask, gown, or gloves. Exposure to the virus has occurred when health care workers treated individuals with Ebola HF without wearing these types of protective clothing. In addition, when needles or syringes are used, they may not be of the disposable type, or may not have been sterilized, but only rinsed before reinsertion into multi-use vials of medicine. If needles or syringes become contaminated with virus and are then reused, numerous people can become infected.
Ebola-Reston appeared in a primate research facility in Virginia, where it may have been transmitted from monkey to monkey through the air. While all Ebola virus species have displayed the ability to be spread through airborne particles (aerosols) under research conditions, this type of spread has not been documented among humans in a real-world setting, such as a hospital or household.
What are the symptoms of Ebola hemorrhagic fever?
The incubation period for Ebola HF ranges from 2 to 21 days. The onset of illness is abrupt and is characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.
Researchers do not understand why some people are able to recover from Ebola HF and others are not. However, it is known that patients who die usually have not developed a significant immune response to the virus at the time of death.
How is Ebola hemorrhagic fever clinically diagnosed?
Diagnosing Ebola HF in an individual who has been infected only a few days is difficult because early symptoms, such as red eyes and a skin rash, are nonspecific to the virus and are seen in other patients with diseases that occur much more frequently. However, if a person has the constellation of symptoms described above, and infection with Ebola virus is suspected, isolate the patient and notify local and state health departments and the CDC.
What laboratory tests are used to diagnose Ebola hemorrhagic fever?
Antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing, IgM ELISA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and virus isolation can be used to diagnose a case of Ebola HF within a few days of the onset of symptoms. Persons tested later in the course of the disease or after recovery can be tested for IgM and IgG antibodies; the disease can also be diagnosed retrospectively in deceased patients by using immunohistochemistry testing, virus isolation, or PCR.
How is Ebola hemorrhagic fever treated?
There is no standard treatment for Ebola HF. Patients receive supportive therapy. This consists of balancing the patient’s fluids and electrolytes, maintaining their oxygen status and blood pressure, and treating them for any complicating infections.
How is Ebola hemorrhagic fever prevented?
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/images/ebola/ebopsterjpg.jpgEbola HF prevention poster used in Kikwit outbreak.
The prevention of Ebola HF in Africa presents many challenges. Because the identity and location of the natural reservoir of Ebola virus are unknown, there are few established primary prevention measures.
If cases of the disease do appear, current social and economic conditions often favor the spread of an epidemic within health-care facilities. Therefore, health-care providers must be able to recognize a case of Ebola HF should one appear. They must also have the capability to perform diagnostic tests and be ready to employ practical viral hemorrhagic fever isolation precautions, or barrier nursing techniques. These techniques include the wearing of protective clothing, such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles; the use of infection-control measures, including complete equipment sterilization; and the isolation of Ebola HF patients from contact with unprotected persons. The aim of all of these techniques is to avoid any person’s contact with the blood or secretions of any patient. If a patient with Ebola HF dies, it is equally important that direct contact with the body of the deceased patient be prevented.
CDC has developed a set of tools to meet health-care facilities' needs. In conjunction with the World Health Organization, CDC has developed practical, hospital-based guidelines, entitled Infection Control for Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers In the African Health Care Setting. The manual describes how to recognize cases of viral hemorrhagic fever, such as Ebola HF, and prevent further nosocomial transmission by using locally available materials and few financial resources. Similarly, a practical diagnostic test that uses tiny samples from patients’ skin has been developed to retrospectively diagnose Ebola HF in suspected case-patients who have died.
What challenges remain for the control and prevention of Ebola hemorrhagic fever?
Scientists and researchers are faced with the challenges of developing additional diagnostic tools to assist in early diagnosis of Ebola HF and conducting ecological investigations of Ebola virus and its possible reservoir. In addition, one of the research goals is to monitor suspected areas to determine the incidence of the disease. More extensive knowledge of the natural reservoir of Ebola virus and how the virus is spread must be acquired to prevent future outbreaks effectively.
discuss..
ante,mia fora akoma kai tha thymasai na to grafeis sosta :wink:[/quote:y6aswxvd]
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/health/
^^diseases in africa
http://www.e-telescope.gr/images/support/04/Smallpox/biohazard.gif
Τι είδους βλάβες προκαλεί ο ιός του Έμπολα;
Δευτέρα 21 Μαρτίου 2005 14:11 [Σχόλια: 12, Hits: 1]
Ο ιός του Έμπολα καταστρέφει εκτεταμένες περιοχές ιστών του ανθρώπινου σώματος.
Αρχικά παρουσιάζεται μια απλή φλεγμονή, με κοκκίνισμα των περιοχών που προσβλήθηκαν. Στη συνέχεια οι ιστοί "λιώνουν" κι αρχίζει η πιο εντυπωσιακή φάση της ασθένειας: ο ασθενής χάνει αίμα από τα μάτια, τη μύτη και το στόμα. Ο ιός του Έμπολα δεν προσβάλλει όλα τα κύτταρα του σώματος αλλά μόνο εκείνα του ενδοθηλίου, μιας λεπτής μεμβράνης που επενδύει κοιλότητες και διάφορα όργανα, όπως την καρδιά και τα αγγεία. Η παρουσία του ενδοθήλιου σ' ολόκληρο το σώμα εξηγεί την ταχύτητα εξάπλωσης του ιού. Η κατάσταση επιδεινώνεται με το ανοσοποιητικό σύστημα, το οποίο, στην προσπάθειά του να σκοτώσει τα προσβεβλημένα κύτταρα, προκαλεί γενική φλεγμονή. Στα τελικά στάδια οι βλάβες επεκτείνονται σε όλους τους ιστούς του σώματος.
http://www.e-telescope.gr/images/support/04/Smallpox/embola.gif
pliroforiaka:
The Seven Deadly Diseases:
Number one is Heart Disease
Number two is Cancer
Number three is Stroke
Number four is Diabetes
Number five is Osteoporosis
Number six is Arthritis
Number seven is Alzheimer's
African Sleeping Sickness
Impact
African sleeping sickness is a parasitic infection caused by a species of parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of the tsetse fly.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/uniramia/tsetse.gif/img] It threatens more than 60 million people in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, 22 of which are among the least developed countries in the world. Between 300,000 and 500,000 people are estimated to suffer from the disease. With early diagnosis, the chance of recovery from African sleeping sickness is good. However, most people who have the disease die before it is ever diagnosed. There are no effective vaccines, and the drugs used to treat this disease are difficult to administer and often toxic. Only 10% of persons at risk are under surveillance, so most cases are only detected when the individual is very ill and possibility of recovery is low.
Symptoms
A bite by the tsetse fly is often painful and can develop into a red sore, also called a chancre. Initially, parasites multiply in the blood, causing a litany of non-specific symptoms, such as fever, severe headache, extreme fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and aching muscles and joints. In the second phase of disease, the parasites infect the central nervous system resulting in irreversible neurological damage manifested by confusion, personality changes, difficulty walking, sleep disturbance, and eventually coma and death.
SBRI's Role
Scientists at SBRI have begun to identify new targets for drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tools for African sleeping sickness and other related diseases. Scientists at SBRI discovered that, contrary to previous expectations, RNA editing - a unique form of control of protein production - is essential for the survival of the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei. Investigators have demonstrated the ability to disrupt this process by blocking production of a selected enzyme.
Kenneth Stuart, Ph.D., investigates the biological mechanics of parasites in order to identify new targets for drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics. He is examining a novel genetic regulatory system in T. brucei. A second major effort is to determine the genome of the parasite so that a comprehensive study of biological mechanisms can be conducted.
Marilyn Parsons, Ph.D., studies a sub-cellular compartment of T. brucei, specifically how the proteins that are critical to the parasite’s survival move within the cell. By exploring cellular and molecular life functions, it is possible to find key differences between the host and the parasite, thereby opening new avenues for treatment.
Peter Myler, Ph.D., is determining the function of a regulatory gene that may be a potential drug target. He also directs the genome sequencing effort to identify new targets for drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics.
Links
WHO African sleeping sickness fact sheet
CDC African sleeping sickness fact sheet
Malaria / Elonosia
Impact
Malaria is the world’s most important tropical parasitic disease and is transmitted through the bite of female mosquitoes. There are four species of the parasite that cause malaria in humans. One of these, Plasmodium falciparum, causes the majority of infections and can lead to death if left untreated. In 2001, an estimated 1.5-2.7 million deaths were the result of malaria and most of deaths occurred in children under five years old. Each year, 300-500 million new cases occur globally. Nearly 40% of the world's population lives in affected regions. Despite over a century of work to control or eradicate this disease, malaria continues to take its devastating toll, largely in developing nations. The emergence of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and drug-resistant malarial parasites has made the situation much worse.
Malaria is a complex disease that affects different organs and tissues and takes different forms. Severe malaria of childhood can present as severe malaria anemia (extremely low red blood cell numbers) or cerebral malaria (deep coma). Non-immune adults are susceptible to both the these complications, in addition to multi-organ failure. A particularly severe form of malaria occurs only in pregnant mothers due to infected erythrocyte sequestration in the placental that harms both mother and fetus.
Symptoms
Malaria is characterized by fever, shivering, pain in the joints, headache and repeated vomiting. The parasite lives in red cells and eventually ruptures them, creating anemia. Severe anemia is often the cause of death in areas with intense malaria transmission. If left untreated, the disease progresses to severe malaria and results in convulsions and coma. Severe malaria often causes death if there is no treatment.
SBRI's Role
Malaria has long been the subject of intense work at SBRI. Study of this complex parasite has led SBRI researchers to fundamental discoveries of the genetic framework and molecular biology of the most virulent malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. As part of a broad and global initiative to fight malaria, SBRI has embarked on an aggressive program to identify new gene targets for developing effective malaria vaccines to boost the human immune system. This Malaria Antigen Discovery Program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, uses the very latest technologies and scientific insight to discover, analyze, and select potential breakthrough vaccine candidates. The program is designed to identify parasite molecules that will be good targets for vaccine development. The program relies on emerging technologies for genome-wide analysis and the recently completed genomic DNA sequence of P. falciparum.
Patrick Duffy, MD., is focused on development of vaccines against malaria, with special attention to mitigating disease symptoms in pregnant women.
Jean Feagin, Ph.D., studies gene expression in the malaria parasite. Her lab is examining subcellular compartments, and the ribosome as possible drug intervention sites.
Stefan Kappe, Ph.D., is focused on the pre-erythrocytic stages of malaria in the human host. Dr. Kappe comes to SBRI from New York University where he was an assistant professor researching blood and liver state malaria, and joined SBRI's Malaria Antigen Discovery (MAD) Program in the fall of 2003.
Joseph D. Smith, Ph.D. is focused on the investigation of potential targets for malaria vaccines. His lab's major emphasis is on understanding the function and pathogenic role of various proteins in Plasmodium falciparum.
Links
WHO Malaria World Health Organization - General information and statistics
CDC Malaria Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - General information and statistics
Roll Back Malaria A partnership working worldwide to halve the burden of malaria by 2010.
Malaria Foundation International A global network to facilitate development and implementation of solutions to malaria-caused problems.
Seattle Malaria Group (SMG) approximately 50 members both internal and external to SBRI
Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
What is Ebola hemorrhagic fever?
Electron micrograph of Ebola virus.
[img]http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/images/pathimag/ebola_em.gif
Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) is a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976.
The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) in Africa, where it was first recognized. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae. There are four identified subtypes of Ebola virus. Three of the four have caused disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, and Ebola-Ivory Coast. The fourth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.
Where is Ebola virus found in nature?
The exact origin, locations, and natural habitat (known as the "natural reservoir") of Ebola virus remain unknown. However, on the basis of available evidence and the nature of similar viruses, researchers believe that the virus is zoonotic (animal-borne) and is normally maintained in an animal host that is native to the African continent. A similar host is probably associated with Ebola-Reston which was isolated from infected cynomolgous monkeys that were imported to the United States and Italy from the Philippines. The virus is not known to be native to other continents, such as North America.
Where do cases of Ebola hemorrhagic fever occur?
Confirmed cases of Ebola HF have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Sudan, the Ivory Coast, Uganda, and the Republic of the Congo. An individual with serologic evidence of infection but showing no apparent illness has been reported in Liberia, and a laboratory worker in England became ill as a result of an accidental needle-stick. No case of the disease in humans has ever been reported in the United States. Ebola-Reston virus caused severe illness and death in monkeys imported to research facilities in the United States and Italy from the Philippines; during these outbreaks, several research workers became infected with the virus, but did not become ill.
Ebola HF typically appears in sporadic outbreaks, usually spread within a health-care setting (a situation known as amplification). It is likely that sporadic, isolated cases occur as well, but go unrecognized. A table showing a chronological list of known cases and outbreaks is available.
How is Ebola virus spread?
Infections with Ebola virus are acute. There is no carrier state. Because the natural reservoir of the virus is unknown, the manner in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak has not been determined. However, researchers have hypothesized that the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/images/ebohosp.jpg
Treating patients with Ebola HF during outbreak of the disease in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in 1995.
After the first case-patient in an outbreak setting is infected, the virus can be transmitted in several ways. People can be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. Thus, the virus is often spread through families and friends because they come in close contact with such secretions when caring for infected persons. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
Nosocomial transmission refers to the spread of a disease within a health-care setting, such as a clinic or hospital. It occurs frequently during Ebola HF outbreaks. It includes both types of transmission described above. In African health-care facilities, patients are often cared for without the use of a mask, gown, or gloves. Exposure to the virus has occurred when health care workers treated individuals with Ebola HF without wearing these types of protective clothing. In addition, when needles or syringes are used, they may not be of the disposable type, or may not have been sterilized, but only rinsed before reinsertion into multi-use vials of medicine. If needles or syringes become contaminated with virus and are then reused, numerous people can become infected.
Ebola-Reston appeared in a primate research facility in Virginia, where it may have been transmitted from monkey to monkey through the air. While all Ebola virus species have displayed the ability to be spread through airborne particles (aerosols) under research conditions, this type of spread has not been documented among humans in a real-world setting, such as a hospital or household.
What are the symptoms of Ebola hemorrhagic fever?
The incubation period for Ebola HF ranges from 2 to 21 days. The onset of illness is abrupt and is characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.
Researchers do not understand why some people are able to recover from Ebola HF and others are not. However, it is known that patients who die usually have not developed a significant immune response to the virus at the time of death.
How is Ebola hemorrhagic fever clinically diagnosed?
Diagnosing Ebola HF in an individual who has been infected only a few days is difficult because early symptoms, such as red eyes and a skin rash, are nonspecific to the virus and are seen in other patients with diseases that occur much more frequently. However, if a person has the constellation of symptoms described above, and infection with Ebola virus is suspected, isolate the patient and notify local and state health departments and the CDC.
What laboratory tests are used to diagnose Ebola hemorrhagic fever?
Antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing, IgM ELISA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and virus isolation can be used to diagnose a case of Ebola HF within a few days of the onset of symptoms. Persons tested later in the course of the disease or after recovery can be tested for IgM and IgG antibodies; the disease can also be diagnosed retrospectively in deceased patients by using immunohistochemistry testing, virus isolation, or PCR.
How is Ebola hemorrhagic fever treated?
There is no standard treatment for Ebola HF. Patients receive supportive therapy. This consists of balancing the patient’s fluids and electrolytes, maintaining their oxygen status and blood pressure, and treating them for any complicating infections.
How is Ebola hemorrhagic fever prevented?
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/images/ebola/ebopsterjpg.jpgEbola HF prevention poster used in Kikwit outbreak.
The prevention of Ebola HF in Africa presents many challenges. Because the identity and location of the natural reservoir of Ebola virus are unknown, there are few established primary prevention measures.
If cases of the disease do appear, current social and economic conditions often favor the spread of an epidemic within health-care facilities. Therefore, health-care providers must be able to recognize a case of Ebola HF should one appear. They must also have the capability to perform diagnostic tests and be ready to employ practical viral hemorrhagic fever isolation precautions, or barrier nursing techniques. These techniques include the wearing of protective clothing, such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles; the use of infection-control measures, including complete equipment sterilization; and the isolation of Ebola HF patients from contact with unprotected persons. The aim of all of these techniques is to avoid any person’s contact with the blood or secretions of any patient. If a patient with Ebola HF dies, it is equally important that direct contact with the body of the deceased patient be prevented.
CDC has developed a set of tools to meet health-care facilities' needs. In conjunction with the World Health Organization, CDC has developed practical, hospital-based guidelines, entitled Infection Control for Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers In the African Health Care Setting. The manual describes how to recognize cases of viral hemorrhagic fever, such as Ebola HF, and prevent further nosocomial transmission by using locally available materials and few financial resources. Similarly, a practical diagnostic test that uses tiny samples from patients’ skin has been developed to retrospectively diagnose Ebola HF in suspected case-patients who have died.
What challenges remain for the control and prevention of Ebola hemorrhagic fever?
Scientists and researchers are faced with the challenges of developing additional diagnostic tools to assist in early diagnosis of Ebola HF and conducting ecological investigations of Ebola virus and its possible reservoir. In addition, one of the research goals is to monitor suspected areas to determine the incidence of the disease. More extensive knowledge of the natural reservoir of Ebola virus and how the virus is spread must be acquired to prevent future outbreaks effectively.
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