Ebola Virus Disease

Many of us have been impacted by outbreaks of disease in our lifetimes. Throughout history, humans have battled outbreaks of disease caused by microorganisms; many have lost their lives to diseases before treatments and cures were discovered. Modern science and medicine have become efficient in developing vaccines and medications to control and treat outbreaks, but whether the diseases will ever truly be eradicated is in question. Considering how many of these infectious diseases exist and how easily they spread, it is important to remember safety issues to reduce and prevent transmission.For your initial post, reflect over the past decade and recall a news-breaking infectious outbreak of a disease that made an impact on you. Please include a link to a news article or video related to your outbreak in your initial post. Try not to duplicate another classmate’s topic (ensure your subject line is your disease so it is easy to check). Please do not cover COVID-19 as there is another discussion that is on that topic alone. There are a lot of different diseases that can be covered other than COVID-19.

Include the following in your initial post:

Name of the disease.
Identify the infectious agent responsible for the disease (is the disease bacterial, viral, fungal?). Include the specific organism’s name (including genus and species).
Describe the morphology of the microorganism responsible for the disease.
Identify the mode of transmission (how the microorganism is spread).
Discuss signs and symptoms of the disease.
Identify methods/techniques used to diagnose the disease or identify the microorganism responsible for the infection.
Describe treatment (or treatments) available.

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Name of the disease: Ebola Virus Disease

Identify the infectious agent responsible for the disease: Ebola Virus Disease is caused by the Ebola virus, which is a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Filoviridae family. The virus has five species, with the most lethal being the Zaire ebolavirus.

Describe the morphology of the microorganism responsible for the disease: The Ebola virus is a filamentous, enveloped virus that ranges from 80 to 100 nanometers in diameter and can be up to 14,000 nanometers long.

Identify the mode of transmission: Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person, such as blood, vomit, or feces. The virus can also be transmitted through contact with contaminated objects, such as needles or syringes.

Discuss signs and symptoms of the disease: Symptoms of Ebola virus disease include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. The symptoms can occur anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the virus.

Identify methods/techniques used to diagnose the disease or identify the microorganism responsible for the infection: Ebola virus disease is diagnosed through laboratory tests, including blood tests to detect the virus’s genetic material or antibodies produced by the immune system.

Describe treatment (or treatments) available: Treatment for Ebola virus disease involves supportive care, such as providing fluids and electrolytes, and treating any secondary infections. Currently, there is no specific antiviral treatment available for Ebola virus disease, although several experimental treatments have been developed and are being tested. Vaccines have also been developed to prevent Ebola virus disease.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/about.html