The Ebola Virus has affected many people across the across the world, specifically West Africa. In 2014, West Africa had a major outbreak, resulting in thousands of people dying. There are many health impacts on this disease, and many people have been trying to destroy this terrible disease, as well as ways to prevent it.
In 1976, there were three outbakes of the Ebola Virus, one in Nzara, one in South Sudan and one in Yambuku. The Ebola virus got its name from the first outbreak occurring near the Ebola River in the Congo (see appendix 1), surrounding central African villages (Arnold, N, 2000). The Ebola virus is a fatal illness that occurs in humans and is caught from wild animals, spreading through human transmission. The fatality rate …show more content…
The Ebola Virus replicates by the disease containing a genetic material called RNA, which is quite similar to DNA (Kelsey, L, 2014). In order for the virus to survive, it must infiltrate a living cell and essentially destroys its host cell in order to succeed in its own life (see appendix 3). The cell membrane of the virus’ host is the barrier that protects the cell from its environment. Ebola must travel through this cell membrane in order for it to survive. Once the Ebola Virus has attached itself to it host, it targets specific cell types inside of the body. These cell types may include liver cells, immune systems cells, and endothelial cells- which live inside the blood vessels. Once inside its cell of choice, the Ebola Virus glycoprotein distributes cell adhesion, which makes the cells have trouble sticking together and stops the cells sticking to the extracellular matrix, which helps hold the cells together (Kelsey, L, 2014). Ebola has many health impacts, one of which being death, but can also lead to internal bleeding, liver damage, and the immune system not working properly. The internal bleeding in caused by the virus infecting blood vessel cells which causes the vessels to become leaky. The liver and immune system work together, so if one is not working, neither is the other. The Ebola virus targets the liver cells because without these important cells, the body cannot clear …show more content…
The World Health Organisation (WHO), have made a solution to the disease with vaccinations. By people in West Africa receiving these vaccinations, they start to be immune to the virus leading to less severe cases in the future. The WHO discovered this vaccination in 2016, and had a trial in Guinea with over 5,000 people. The people that were trialled with the vaccine were tested 10 days later and there were no reported cases of Ebola in the trialled people. The vaccine is call rVSV-ZEBOV and is the first vaccine to prevent infection from the Ebola Virus. This breakthrough was led by WHO, Guinea’s Ministry of Health, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. ‘While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless’- quote from Dr Marie-Paule Kieny (see appendix 4), WHO’s Assistant Director. The above quote shows that WHO is very confident in what they have achieved with this vaccine and that if another outbreak does occur, they will hopefully be able to contain it and save many more
In 1976, there were three outbakes of the Ebola Virus, one in Nzara, one in South Sudan and one in Yambuku. The Ebola virus got its name from the first outbreak occurring near the Ebola River in the Congo (see appendix 1), surrounding central African villages (Arnold, N, 2000). The Ebola virus is a fatal illness that occurs in humans and is caught from wild animals, spreading through human transmission. The fatality rate …show more content…
The Ebola Virus replicates by the disease containing a genetic material called RNA, which is quite similar to DNA (Kelsey, L, 2014). In order for the virus to survive, it must infiltrate a living cell and essentially destroys its host cell in order to succeed in its own life (see appendix 3). The cell membrane of the virus’ host is the barrier that protects the cell from its environment. Ebola must travel through this cell membrane in order for it to survive. Once the Ebola Virus has attached itself to it host, it targets specific cell types inside of the body. These cell types may include liver cells, immune systems cells, and endothelial cells- which live inside the blood vessels. Once inside its cell of choice, the Ebola Virus glycoprotein distributes cell adhesion, which makes the cells have trouble sticking together and stops the cells sticking to the extracellular matrix, which helps hold the cells together (Kelsey, L, 2014). Ebola has many health impacts, one of which being death, but can also lead to internal bleeding, liver damage, and the immune system not working properly. The internal bleeding in caused by the virus infecting blood vessel cells which causes the vessels to become leaky. The liver and immune system work together, so if one is not working, neither is the other. The Ebola virus targets the liver cells because without these important cells, the body cannot clear …show more content…
The World Health Organisation (WHO), have made a solution to the disease with vaccinations. By people in West Africa receiving these vaccinations, they start to be immune to the virus leading to less severe cases in the future. The WHO discovered this vaccination in 2016, and had a trial in Guinea with over 5,000 people. The people that were trialled with the vaccine were tested 10 days later and there were no reported cases of Ebola in the trialled people. The vaccine is call rVSV-ZEBOV and is the first vaccine to prevent infection from the Ebola Virus. This breakthrough was led by WHO, Guinea’s Ministry of Health, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. ‘While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless’- quote from Dr Marie-Paule Kieny (see appendix 4), WHO’s Assistant Director. The above quote shows that WHO is very confident in what they have achieved with this vaccine and that if another outbreak does occur, they will hopefully be able to contain it and save many more