This terrible illness has been raging in Western Africa since the
25 of July 2014, it is believed this began with a toddler who then spread the
disease to his mother and from there it's growth was exponential. Despite a
media frenzy and many people verging on paranoia, most of the population know
very little about the virus itself.
This virus proves fatal for around 50% of those infected, however
depending on the variation it can be as low as 25% or as high as 90%.It belongs
to a group known as the filo viruses, who’s name comes from the latin word
filum, meaning string, as is the shape of this viral group. Other viruses
contained within this group are those such as Marburg, another hemorrhagic
virus. The variations of Ebola virus mostly affect the great apes, however some
infect bats as is the believed cause of this outbreak. Ebola is not confined to
Africa as variants were found in apes from the Philippines.
There are five variants of this virus, namely Taï Forest (formerly Ivory Coast),
Sudan, Zaire, Reston and Bundibugyo. Ebola-Reston is the only known Filovirus
that does not cause severe disease in humans; however, it can still be fatal in
monkeys and it has been recently recovered from infected swine in South-east
Asia.The virus attacks by attaching its spine covered body to the cell
membrane, forcing it to be absorbed and then reproducing using the hosts DNA.
The reason for the virus's great effectiveness is what's known as a cytokines
storm, this causes metabolic upheaval and is caused by harmful toxins and
protein being emitted from the virus as it reproduces, the effect of this is
that it causes the walls of the arteries and blood vessels to loosen, denature
and break away entirely, this is the reason for extensive haemorrhaging.
Another effect of the chemical storm is as the abdomen is filled with fluids
pressure builds up and the virus is free to move through these liquids and
spread itself further through the hosts body.
Hoping for a cure, the latest prevailing idea for a cure is that
of a seemingly miraculous drug, Z-map, this drug uses the antibodies from mice,
which appear to be able to control the disease, before chemically changing them
to make them comparable with the human immune system. This drug works in two
ways , the first of which attacks the mechanism by which the virus enters a
human cell, by attaching its spine covered body to the cell, forcing it to be
absorbed and then reproducing using the hosts DNA. The first antibodies launch
onto the spines and prevent the virus from entering the cells and reproducing,
the second works by acting as a kind of chemical marker causing the human
immune system to attack the virus. The advantage of this treatment is it
enables the body to formulate its own antibody, while
the virus is pacified, giving therefore long lasting immunity. There is also
hope for a vaccination which is currently being trialled, this will use a
similar combination of antibodies taken, in this case primarily from the great
apes. Another therapy is the use of the blood plasm as of survivors and in
theory transferring the antibodies for long lasting immunity.