Lecture 19 - Ebola in Liberia Flashcards
Family Filoviridae is divided into what 2 genera?
MARV and EBOV
T/F: The MARV genus contains single species.
TRUE
What are the 5 distinct species in the EBOV genus?
- BEBOV
- CIEBOV
- REBOV
- SEBOV
- ZEBOV
What does Filoviridae look like under a light microscope?
Thick, string-like
T/F: Cases of filovirus are due to the importation of cases that occur in places where the disease is endemic to
TRUE
In 2014-2015, the largest outbreak of Ebola recorded was due to what species?
ZEBOV
Where did the largest ebola outbreak begin?
Began in Guinea in late 2013 and spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali
What was the total number of laboratory confirmed, probable and suspected, cases attributed to EBOV?
28,616 of which 11,310 have been fatal
How is ebola transmitted?
Transmitted in body fluid of infected patients
- blood, feces, vomit
- possible through urine and semen too but less common
T/F: Risk of transmission related directly to amount of virus in the fluids
True, low in early illness but increases with time
Natural history of ebola
- Human and primates are end hosts, not reservoirs
- Bats might be hosts bc antibodies present in blood but no infectious viral particles isolated
- could be pigs too
What are the possible transmissions of ebola? (4)
- Animal to animal: bats carry virus and can spread to other animals, like apes, monkeys, and antelopes, as well as to humans
- Spillover event: when an animal or human becomes infected with Ebola virus through contact with reservoir host – ex: hunting or preparing animal’s meet for eating
- Human to human: once Ebola has infected first human, transmission of virus from one human to another can occur through contact with the blood and body fluids of sick people or with bodies of those who have died of Ebola
- Survivor: feel tiredness and muscle aches, can face stigma as they re-enter their communities
What are the clinical symptoms of ebola?
Nonspecific
- sudden onset fever, malaise, myalgia
- GI upset (vomiting, diarrhea)
- headache, fatigue, arthralgia in healing phase
- coagulation disorders
Hemorrhage seen in 20% of cases
Ebola in West Africa
- 1st reported human case in 2013-2016 epidemic involving 2 yr old in village of Meliandou
- thought to have originated from bats
- patient zero became ill 12/26/13
- family subsequently became ill
Which organizations became involved in trying to help control Ebola in West Africa?
- Guinea Ministry of Health, Ministry of Health, WHO AFRO, MSF
- WHO played a big role