Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
Presented 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
been
small 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
contact
with
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!
Sources
http://www.who.int/csr/don/archive/disease/ebola_
haemorrhagic_fever/en/index.html
http://www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_160/Projects20
04/ebola/epi.html
http://www.nature.com/nrd/journal/v5/n2/full/nrd1
969.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/disp
ages/ebola/ebolatable.htm
http://www.bepast.org/dataman.pl?c=lib&dir=docs/
photos/Ebola
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/disp
ages/Fact_Sheets/Ebola_Fact_Booklet.pdf
http://www.microbiologytext.com/index.php?module
=Book&func=displayarticle&art_id=493
http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/Immunology/
Students/Spring2003/Austin/Immune-2.html