Ebola Hemorrhagic FeverPresented by: Jamie McGee

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

•“The red spots on the skin grow and spread and merge to become huge, spontaneous bruises, and the skin goes soft and pulpy, and can tear off if it is touched with any kind of pressure. Your mouth bleeds...

Ebola virus

•RNA virus in filovirus family

•5 subtypes

Ebola virus

•RNA virus in filovirus family

•5 subtypes•Level 4 agent

Ebola virus•Exact origins and “natural

reservoir” are unknown

Ebola virus•Exact origins and “natural

reservoir” are unknown•Animal-borne (primates in

Africa/Philippines; recently found in pigs)

Ebola virus•Exact origins and “natural

reservoir” are unknown•Animal-borne (primates in

Africa/Philippines; recently found in pigs)

•Humans infected through contact with infected animal

Ebola was discovered in 1976

Subsequent epidemics have beensmall but very deadly

The symptoms of Ebola are nasty!

•Fever, headache, joint/muscle ache, diarrhea, vomiting, rash, internal/external bleeding

Ebola is highly virulent and works quickly!

Ebola is only spread by direct contactwith blood/secretions or a contaminated object

Viral life cycle

What does Ebola do to the body?•Blood clots form

What does Ebola do to the body?•Blood clots form•Hemorrhages (bleeding)

develop

What does Ebola do to the body?•Blood clots form•Hemorrhages (bleeding)

develop•Virus kills a large

amount of tissue

What does Ebola do to the body?•Blood clots form•Hemorrhages (bleeding)

develop•Virus kills a large

amount of tissue•“Crashing out”

(mechanism for spreading)

But the virus isn’t necessarily “efficient”

•Kills host too rapidly…little time or opportunity to transmit itself to other hosts successfully

Ebola and the immune system interact in an interesting and mysterious way

•Unsure why some recover and others do not

There is currently no effective treatment…

but see hope in “antisense PMOs”!

Many ideas for possible vaccines…

Many ideas for possible vaccines…

…but few have turned out to be effective

…but is it worth it?

•Challenge—no clinical trials on humans

•Poor animal models•Virus burns itself out anyway

•$$$

So…why do we care?•Viral mutations…evolution…airborne?

•Implications for developing world

•Bioterrorism▫We are unprepared!

Sourceshttp://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/disease/

ebola_haemorrhagic_fever/en/index.htmlhttp://www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_160/Projects2004/

ebola/epi.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/nrd/journal/v5/n2/full/

nrd1969.htmlhttp://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/

dispages/ebola/ebolatable.htmhttp://www.bepast.org/dataman.pl?c=lib&dir=docs/

photos/Ebolahttp://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/

dispages/Fact_Sheets/Ebola_Fact_Booklet.pdfhttp://www.microbiologytext.com/index.php?

module=Book&func=displayarticle&art_id=493http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/Immunology/

Students/Spring2003/Austin/Immune-2.html