Ebola Virus Research Paper

Zaire ebolavirus, or commonly known as Ebola, is the virus responsible behind the early 2014 outbreak in West Africa and got its name from the Ebola river, a tributary of the Congo river. The main cause of the virus in the first known outbreak in 1976 is still unknown, but it is believed to have been caused by the human handling of fruit bats and monkeys. Once the virus snakes its way through the host’s body it causes deadly fevers which eventually produce hemorrhaging throughout the body of the victim. The hemorrhagic virus consists of seven proteins that make up the RNA’s genome by taking over the hosts’ cells to prevent the immune system from defeating the virus. Ultimately, the failure of internal organs due to hemorrhaging and coagulation which can inevitably lead to death.

History …show more content…
Years of multiple research and experiments could never conclude the specific origin of the Ebola virus. One strain of the Ebola virus was discovered when a group of infected monkeys were shipped into the United State from the Philippines and the last strain was discovered when a scientist accidently infected herself while performing an autopsy on a chimpanzee. Multiple cases around 1976 broke out due to the handling of nesting bats and then once the virus transferred to the human host, hospitals did not take proper precautions with sterilization and the virus broke out of control in small remote