Ebola

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style="background:#Template:Taxobox colour;"|Ebola virus

style="background:#Template:Taxobox colour;" | Virus classification
Group: Group V ((-)ssRNA)
Order: Mononegavirales
Family: Filovirus
Genus: Ebolavirus
Type species
Zaïre Ebolavirus
Species

Reston Ebolavirus
Sudan Ebolavirus
Ivory Coast Ebolavirus
Bundibugyo Ebolavirus

Ebola
ICD-10 A98.4
ICD-9 065.8
DiseasesDB 18043
MedlinePlus 001339
MeSH C02.782.417.415

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

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Viral reservoirs

Despite numerous studies, the wildlife reservoir of Ebolavirus has not been identified. Between 1976 and 1998, from 30,000 mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods sampled from outbreak regions, no Ebolavirus was detected [1] apart from some genetic material found in six rodents (Mus setulosus and Praomys species) and a shrew (Sylvisorex ollula) collected from the Central African Republic in 1998.[2] Ebolavirus was detected in the carcasses of gorillas, chimpanzees and duikers during outbreaks in 2001 and 2003 (the carcasses were the source of the initial human infections) but the high mortality from infection in these species precludes them from acting as reservoirs.[1]

Plants, arthropods, and birds have also been considered as reservoirs, however bats are considered the most likely candidate[3]. Bats were known to reside in the cotton factory in which the index cases for the 1976 and 1979 outbreaks were employed and have also been implicated in Marburg infections in 1975 and 1980.[1] Of 24 plant species and 19 vertebrate species experimentally inoculated with Ebolavirus, only bats became infected.[4] The absence of clinical signs in these bats is characteristic of a reservoir species. In 2002-03, a survey of 1,030 animals from Gabon and the Republic of the Congo including 679 bats found Ebolavirus RNA in 13 fruit bats (Hyspignathus monstrosus, Epomops franquetti and Myonycteris torquata).[5] Bats are also known to be the reservoirs for a number of related viruses including Nipah virus, Hendra virus and lyssaviruses.

Recent outbreaks

As of August 30, 2007, 103 people (100 adults and three children) were infected by a suspected hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the village of Mweka, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The outbreak started after the funerals of two village chiefs, and 217 people in four villages fell ill. The World Health Organization sent a team to take blood samples for analysis and confirmed that many of the cases are the result of the Ebola virus [6]. The Congo's last major Ebola epidemic killed 245 people in 1995 in Kikwit, about 200 miles from the source of the Aug. 2007 outbreak.[7]

On November 30, 2007, the Uganda Ministry of Health confirmed an outbreak of Ebola in the Bundibugyo District. After confirmation of samples tested by the United States National Reference Laboratories and the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization confirmed the presence of a new species of the Ebola virus.[8] The epidemic came to an official end on February 20, 2008. 149 cases of this new strain were reported and 37 of those led to deaths.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Pourrut, Xavier (2005). "The natural history of Ebola virus in Africa". Microbes and Infection. 7 (7–8): 1005–1014. doi:10.1016/j.micinf.2005.04.006. Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (help)
  2. Morvan, Jaques (1999). "Identification of Ebola virus sequences present as RNA or DNA in organs of terrestrial small mammals of the Central African Republic". Microbes and Infection. 1 (14): 1193–1201. doi:10.1016/S1286-4579(99)00242-7. Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (help)
  3. "Fruit bats may carry Ebola virus". BBC News. 2005-12-11. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  4. Swanepoel, R (1996). "Experimental inoculation of plants and animals with Ebola virus". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2: 321–325. Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (help)
  5. Leroy, Eric (2005). "Fruit bats as reservoirs of Ebola virus". Nature. 438: 575–576. doi:10.1038/438575a. Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (help)
  6. "Ebola Outbreak Confirmed in Congo". NewScientist.com. 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  7. "Mystery DR Congo fever kills 100". BBC News. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
  8. "Uganda: Deadly Ebola Outbreak Confirmed - UN". UN News Service. 2007-11-30. Retrieved 2008-02-25.

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