Ebola

Anyone going to Africa????!!!

So what is this Ebola thing we're hearing about, and why am I posting about it?

To answer the second question, I'm interested in virology a little bit, but moreso this recent outbreak differ's from others in that it is in a more developed and connected areas and which happens to be quite a bit closer to Europe then other outbreaks, and it's growing. Since it can take 21 days from infection before symptoms even begin it could in theory spread quite fast.

Hopefully it wont spread much more, and the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel advisory for Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The CDC’s warning recommends against nonessential travel to the three countries. Frieden also said the CDC is sending an additional 50 disease-control specialists into the three countries over the next 30 days in order to establish emergency operation centers in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The centers will provide resources and fast diagnoses, according to Frieden. The CDC already has workers tracking the epidemic and its spread.

“The bottom line is Ebola is worsening in West Africa,” said Frieden. “CDC, along with others, are surging to begin to turn the tide. It is not going to be quick. It is not going to be easy. But we know what to do. The current outbreak is bad. It’s the biggest, the most complex, and the first time it’s been present in this region.”

It's also been found in nearby Nigeria.

So armed with a little bit of knowledge I thought I'd make a post to try and talk about some of the details in more understandable language.

Did you know - it is the same 'type' of virus as influenza, and perhaps that is why it's such a worry to authorities about its capacity to spread.

Did you know - it only contains 7 set's of gene's!! Virus are often quite small because many of them use the target cell's existing machinery to do all the work for them. Perhaps it's the small size and efficient design which makes these types so prevalent.

Did you know - it's a virus, Lol, yes of course you did. Specifically it's a -RNA filovirus, which is a tiny fragment of genetic code (negative sense RNA) in a protein capsule, wrapped in a cylindrical protein shell.



This virus shell protects it while it travels around, and when ending up at a target cell it fuses into the cell's outer layer to release inside the target cell the virus protein capsule, which breaks down to release the virus -RNA genetic code into the target cell's insides.

Once inside the target cell, the cell think's its part of itself and will start reading the genetic code and producing the end products (incubation period). What is produced then manipulates the cell's own internal machinery to produce more and more of the virus, which is then released out to reinfect other cells (infectious period and where symptoms develop). This continues at an increasing rate until the body fails, or the body defeats the viral infection.

That's it. The whole 'lifes purpose' of the virus is to reproduce and spread.

What makes it really different then the flu, is its target cell's are vital to our health, and the Ebola virus has been reported to at times have a fatality rate as high as 90%!!!

The virus's target cells look to be the types of cells in your veins and arteries, immune cells and liver cells. It seems to hijack the immune system to transport itself and spread. Apparently it is the damage to the circulatory system and liver which cause that symptom of bleeding you might have heard in the news about the effects of Ebola.

So the important stuff, mostly from the CDC page;

Prevention
Barrier nursing techniques include:

• wearing of protective clothing (such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles)
• the use of infection-control measures (such as complete equipment sterilization and routine use of disinfectant)
• isolation of Ebola patients from contact with unprotected persons.

The aim of all of these techniques is to avoid contact with the blood or secretions of an infected patient. If a patient with Ebola HF dies, it is equally important that direct contact with the body of the deceased patient be prevented.

Despite this, adequately an prepared Doctor and Nurse have been infected and died in this recent outbreak.

Transmission
Any secretions or blood (wording from CDC)... will update specifics in near future.

Signs and Symptoms
Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to ebolavirus though 8-10 days is most common.
Some who become sick with Ebola HF are able to recover, while others do not.
Symptoms of Ebola HF typically include (all the normal influenza stuff like):

• Fever
• Headache
• Joint and muscle aches
• Weakness
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Stomach pain
• Lack of appetite

Some patients may experience:

• A Rash
• Red Eyes
• Hiccups
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Difficulty swallowing
• Bleeding inside and outside of the body

I heard somewhere you can be infectious up to around 3 months after having had Ebola!!
Luckily some who become sick with Ebola HF are able to recover, so don't panic, but act fast on contacting authorities - and isolation seems to be important so not to spread it further.

Check out this page for more information, and to follow any official releases about its spread;
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/

Current status;


Source: http://time.com/3065176/ebola-outbreak-cdc/

Visit this page for daily updates;
http://www.afro.who.int/en/clusters-a-programmes/dpc/epidemic-a-pandemic-alert-and-response/outbreak-news.html

Anyone who knows more let me know if I got anything wrong, or feel free to add developments if this becomes a story. Otherwise I hope some people might have learned a little about it.

Note: I deliberately didn't use the correct terms for some things, to try and make it easier to understand.

That was really interesting, thanks Adder.

Ever notice how some of the most devastating viruses seem to come from "the cradle of life" region....shows how important hygiene,and clean water are...

I wonder how long before a zombie virus is discovered....

Apparently they're flying patients here to the US to treat them further. Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen? I mean, we're one of the wealthiest countries in the world and people still don't wash their hands or act smartly about avoiding getting sick (and that's just for the garden variety of illnesses).

Hey Adder,

great post. Could you repost it in the Jedi Bystander Thread?

Thanks

@jamie, that was my first thought, but remember developed nations have much more readily available treatment and knowledge...plus they were transported under quarantine...still crap happens on occasion...

[strike]Correction: Looks like its not transmitted by sneezing and coughing. [/strike]

Might be that the target cells are in the arterial/liver areas as oppossed to the influenza which is "typically in the nose, throat, and lungs of mammals, and intestines of birds" - the location/type of a virus's target cells would seemingly indicate how its transmitted most easily.

Sorry for the error! :ohmy:

Update Edit: Looks like it might be transmitted by sneezing and perhaps coughing, though sufficient research has not been done yet to know for sure.

Therefore, treat it as highly infectious!!

Adder wrote: Correction: Looks like its not transmitted by sneezing and coughing.

Might be that the target cells are in the arterial/liver areas as oppossed to the influenza which is "typically in the nose, throat, and lungs of mammals, and intestines of birds" - the location/type of a virus's target cells would seemingly indicate how its transmitted most easily.

Sorry for the error! :ohmy:

Oh, Really? I just got my information from http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/ten-things-you-really-should-know-about-ebola and thought them to be a good source of knowledge. But don't Bodily fluids include saliva as well? If so, coughing and sneezing are risk of transmission, because, as we now, when coughing and sneezing, we expel a fair amount of saliva.

Also, I think if the first people start dropping dead in one of the "developed" countries, people might rapidly raise their hygiene standards.

They would not bring somebody to the US who posed a threat to the whole country. Have a little more faith that the people in charge do not want an outbreak. That would not serve them well at all.

If you think from a "selfish" point of view, which is the view of most humans, I can't see them doing anything to endanger anybody's lives, lest they end up with no job.

They're taking the patients to a very secure space. I am not worried at all.

Joe wrote: Oh, Really? I just got my information from http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/ten-things-you-really-should-know-about-ebola and thought them to be a good source of knowledge. But don't Bodily fluids include saliva as well? If so, coughing and sneezing are risk of transmission, because, as we now, when coughing and sneezing, we expel a fair amount of saliva.

Also, I think if the first people start dropping dead in one of the "developed" countries, people might rapidly raise their hygiene standards.

That's what I thought too!!! The CDC said' secretions' and I thought saliva was a secretion. I'll dig deeper when I get some more time and update if I find anything more concrete.