You are on page 1of 5

Fisher 1

Alexa Fisher
11-10-2014
ENG 112
Ashley Marcum
Ebola the Hemorrhagic Virus
Abby Phillip from The Washington Post said, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone are
already economically isolated because this epidemic has spread far wider and lasted much longer
than any other Ebola outbreak in history (Phillip). Some of us have heard of it by now. Some
people might have not even heard of it, while others sit at home watching the news waiting for a
new infection to arise. Ebola is a virus that has been an ongoing issue, but has gotten worse over
the years. It is easily passed by bodily fluids entering someone elses blood stream. It has killed
thousands of people, without any regrets. Ebola has entered many countries and making an
everlasting mark on the friends and families it effects. It has now entered American borders and
seems to only be getting worse. Americans need to know about the deadly virus Ebola,
especially the effects of the virus on the body, the mortality and infection rates of the virus, the
methods of transmission, and the challenges the world faces to halt the spread of the disease.
Most people who are infected, dont even know they are infected until a week or two
later. Salim Mattar and Marco Gonzalez tell us about what the first signs of Ebola symptoms,
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is often characterized by sudden onset of fever (40C), intense
weakness and muscle aches, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash,

Fisher 2

renal and hepatic dysfunction and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding. (Mattar and
Gonzalez). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said, Symptoms may appear
anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days (Signs and
Symptoms). Phillip Ross from International Business Times says, It attacks nearly every organ
and tissue in the body, sparing bone and skeletal muscle, according to the Oxford Journal of
Clinical Infectious Diseases. Once the virus has settled in, it slowly converts the bodys collagen
to mush and liquefies the under-layers of skin. Blood clots thicken the bloodstream and cause
internal and external hemorrhaging. Death comes after the body becomes drained of blood
(Ross). In other words, people with Ebola suffer from high fever, excessive vomiting and
diarrhea, and eventually, bleeding from everywhere. It seems that if you are infected, you are
dying a slow and painful death, while possibly infecting others in the process. If that doesnt
scare you, the fatality rate will.

There are plenty of countries with people that have been infected with the deadly
virus, Ebola. But, the main region that is having the hardest time with the virus is, West Africa.
Ebola started up again in 2013, in Guinea, then to Liberia and to Sierra Leone. From the StarTides site, inside the chart Ebola Newest Digest documented that Liberia has 3,929 cases of
infected people with Ebola (Star-Tides). The fatality rate is severely high for Ebola; the mortality
rate in West Africa has risen to 70%.

I think a lot of people are also confused on the transmission of Ebola. Researchers have
shown that fruit bats are the primary hosts for Ebola transmission. Researchers have also said
that they have tested animals with the Ebola virus and without Ebola. Jane Huston wrote on an

Fisher 3

online source about a team of researchers testing the transmission of Ebola. She said, They first
inoculated a number of piglets with the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus. The piglets were then
placed in a room with four cynomolgus macaques, a species of monkey commonly used in
laboratories. The animals were separated by wire cages to prevent direct contact between the
species. (Huston). After a few days, both of the animals were infected with Ebola. This study
and others like it show that the virus can be transmitted in animals through airborne pathogens.
Researchers insist that the transmission in humans is much different.
There are two types of transmission for humans. Cheryl Turner wrote, Primary
transmission can occur from animal to human when a human eats or handles an infected animal.
Secondary transmission of Ebola (EVD) from human to human can occur rapidly
through direct contact with bodily fluids from someone who died of EVD, or contact with
contaminated objects, that werent properly sterilized (Turner).

Turner is telling us that if we were to somehow to get blood in our blood stream, of someone
who is infected with Ebola, that we will be infected. The Ebola virus is hard to control, that is
inevitable. As of right now, there is no known medicine that can boost our immune system
enough to fight off the virus. How do we plan to control the spread of Ebola, if there is not
vaccine?

The only way to control the spread of Ebola is to limit the travel to West Africa. How
would you feel, getting onto an airplane and wondering if the person sitting next to you is
sickened from Ebola? You dont know that they were in West Africa just the other day trying to

Fisher 4

help someone fight off the disease. After all of this deadly information, here comes the killer.
There is no known vaccine or cure. But there may be hope for us.
We must be well informed about the deadly virus Ebola, especially the effects of the
virus on the body, the mortality and infection rates of the virus, the methods of transmission, and
the challenges the world faces to halt the spread of the disease. America has been infected with
Ebola, in order for it to not spread or get worse; we need an action plan; like putting a ban on all
traveling to and from the Countries that are infected with Ebola. Jason Miks said from CNN,
According to the World Health Organization's latest update, there have been almost 9,000
confirmed and suspected cases, with almost 4,500 deaths (Miks). Yes, you read that correctly,
4,500 deaths in total; however, only a few are American citizens. With this plan, we can save
lives, prevent turmoil in homes, and keep American citizens safe from the pandemic virus,
Ebola.

Fisher 5

Works Cited
"Ebola News Digest - October 7." STAR-TIDES. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
Phillip, Abby. "Why Hasn't the U.S. Closed Its Airports to Travelers from Ebola Ravaged
Countries?" The Washington Post. Web. 17 Oct. 2014.
Miks, Jason. "Ebola Outbreak Outpacing 'running Much Faster' than Response." CNN World. 17
Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Turner, Cheryl. "Ebola Virus Disease: An Emerging Threat." Nursing44.9 (2014): 68-69.
CINAHL with Full Text. Web. 18 Oct. 2014.
Mattar V., Salim, and Marco Gonzlez T. "Ebola... How Far Away Are We?." Revista MVZ
Crdoba 19.3 (2014): 4195-4198. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
Ross, Phillips. "How Ebola Kills: What The Deadly Virus Does To The Human Body."
International Business Times. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
"Signs and Symptoms." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 2 Nov. 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Huston, Jane. "From Pigs to Monkeys, Ebola Goes Airborne | HealthMap." From Pigs to
Monkeys, Ebola Goes Airborne | HealthMap. This Disease Daily, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 18
Oct. 2014.

You might also like