by Brad Hoppmann,
Unless you live thousands of miles away from any human civilization, you surely have heard about Ebola. You know it’s some sort of disease. You know it's spreading fast. And you know it's bad.
But do you know what it actually is?
"One of the world's deadliest diseases…"
That's according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, a French-founded humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization.
"It is a highly infectious virus that can kill up to 90% of the people who catch it, causing terror among infected communities," they say.
And so far, there's no vaccination against it.
What is Ebola?
Before the recent outbreak, most people had never heard of Ebola. The disease was discovered in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). Here, the initial outbreak was named after the neighboring Ebola River.
The Ebola virus causes viral hemorrhagic fever, which according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), refers to a group of viruses that affect multiple organ systems in the body and are often accompanied by bleeding.
Normally, the body recognizes a virus, such as the flu or the common cold, by the function of dendritic cells. These cells patrol the body and alert the immune system of an invader.
When the body knows of an invader, it produces antibodies tailored specifically to the particular virus. This is how the body normally deals with infection.
When the Ebola virus enters the blood, it immediately targets the immune system, which is responsible for combating infections.
What makes Ebola different and much more dangerous is its sophisticated ability to bypass the dendritic cells undetected and shut off their "alarm system."
This leaves the immune system clueless, and therefore no antibodies are made to combat the Ebola virus.
Now the immune system is completely unprotected and open to all kinds of infection.
The Ebola virus begins to replicate like crazy, causing uncontrollable growth and infection in various organs in the body. Cells begin to prematurely die and even explode.
Remember, from initial exposure to death process can take anywhere from a couple days to up to 21 days depending on certain factors.
However, in the end, it’s not the Ebola virus that kills you. It's actually your own immune system in the form of something called a "cytokine storm."
A cytokine storm is essentially an SOS to your immune system. In one last desperate attack to save the body, the immune system launches its full arsenal of weapons.
The virus takes a hit, but the collateral damage on the body proves to be fatal.
Dr. Christopher Basler an immunologist at the University of Texas says "the cytokine storm makes the blood vessel walls more permeable. So the arteries, veins and capillaries start to leak blood and plasma."
Basler’s partner, Dr. Thomas Geisbert, describes the finish:
"All these factors combine together to reduce blood pressure to dangerous levels, so you don't die of blood loss, but from something similar to severe septic shock."
The Current State of Ebola
The World Health Organization warned Thursday as it announced the worldwide death toll would pass 4,500 — including 236 health workers.
So far, the disease has mainly affected the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, but fears of a spread to the United States, Europe and the rest of the world are quickly rising.
Only one American, Thomas Eric Duncan, has died from the Ebola outbreak.
Two nurses who had been involved in treating Duncan have been diagnosed with the virus and are now being treated in isolation at the same hospital.
One of those nurses, Amber Vinson, flew halfway across the country from Texas to Ohio on a commercial jet with 132 other people just the day before she entered the hospital with Ebola-like symptoms.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said he wasn't sure how it happened.
"She was being monitored here in Dallas," he told CNN's "The Situation Room."
"And if she was being monitored correctly, I think she should have never gotten on that flight."
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said this in a statement:
"Because of the proximity in time between the evening flight and first report of illness the following morning, CDC is reaching out to passengers who flew on Frontier Airlines flight 1143 Cleveland to Dallas/Fort Worth Oct. 13."
Is Ebola the Next Pandemic?
In my opinion, no. At least not yet.
The current outbreak is for the time being contained in West Africa. The Ebola virus spreads by human to human contact, not airborne transmission, which would be a dire cause for concern.
Unfortunately, the world does not seem to be as prepared as it should of been, but in no way can this already be deemed "the next AIDS."
Right now, the only prevention you can take against Ebola is by not traveling to an infected area.
This is a simple solution for now, but personally, I think this creates a sense of insecurity, because the fate of the disease rests in the hands of others and the decisions they make.
What do you think about Ebola? How big of a threat do you believe it really is? You can leave a comment on our website or send me an e-mail.
Check out other post on this blog; you would love them.
Happy Reading!
Nwadu Obiora.
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