"Infectious disease is one of the few genuine adventures left in the world. The dragons are all dead and the lance grows rusty in the chimney corner... About the only sporting proposition that remains unimpaired by the relentless domestication of a once free-living human species is the war against those ferocious little fellow creatures, which lurk in dark corners and stalk us in the bodies of rats, mice and all kinds of domestic animals; which fly and crawl with the insects, and waylay us in our food and drink and even in our love."
Ebola is one of the most lethal viruses that infects primates. It has a mortality rate that ranges from 53-88%. It is endemic to Africa and to the Philippines. Due to its highly pathogenic nature, scientific research conducted on Ebola must be conducted in a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory (AIDS/HIV is a Biosafetly Level 2 virus). The constraint on scientific research that its nature has dictated has resulted in many significant gaps in what is known about it, and even larger gaps in what has been published about it. Its highly pathogenic nature has also resulted in a notable amount of misinformation that has been published.
Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) is one of the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind, causing death in 50-90% of all clinically ill cases. Several different species of Ebola virus have been identified. The Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected persons.Transmission of the Ebola virus has also occurred by handling ill or dead infected chimpanzees.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) is a severe, often-fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) that has appeared sporadically since its initial recognition in 1976. The disease is caused by infection with Ebola virus, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) in Africa, where it was first recognized. The virus is one of two members of a family of RNA viruses called the Filoviridae. There are four identified subtypes of Ebola virus. Three of the four have caused disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, and Ebola-Ivory Coast. The fourth, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.
People infected with Ebola virus have sudden fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, limited kidney and liver functions, and both internal and external bleeding. Death rates range from 50% to 90%. Ebola virus can be spread from person to person through sexual contact. Persons who have recuperated from an illness caused by Ebola virus can still have the virus in their genital secretions for a short time after recovery and can spread the virus through sexual activity.
Specialized laboratory tests on blood specimens detect specific antigens and/or genes of the virus. Antibodies to the virus can be detected, and the virus can be isolated in cell culture. Tests on samples present an extreme biohazard risk and are only conducted under maximum biological containment conditions. New developments in diagnostic techniques include non-invasive methods of diagnosis (testing saliva and urine samples) and testing inactivated samples to provide rapid laboratory diagnosis to support case management during outbreak control activities.
