Ebola

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Ebola is a viral disease which is very dangerous to the human life. On the international levels, the lawmakers and experts of infectious decease are examining the question as to whether the terrorists may deliberately use this terrible virus to infect and wreak the psychological on a population of the world who may not be expecting the same.
In this regard, Amanda Teckman has published a detailed report which was published in May 2013 with the title as “The Bioterrorist Threat of Ebola on east Africa and implications for Global Health. He says that the governments should think about this problem seriously because if Ebola is adopted as a weapon of biological warfare then it would create great difficulties for entire human being.
Teckman had started her study on Ebola in 1012 when Ebola was an outbreak in Uganda by which 17 persons were killed there and more than 3000 people met to death for the reason of this virus in West Africa. Regarding to threat of use of this virus as a biological weapon she told to the Fox news that the governments need to be aware, vigilant and must prepare to take steps against any such efforts by any group of terrorists.
This seems like a story of any science fiction that the anti-human actors get the virus and adopt different ways to disperse this dangerous virus to affect the maximum number of the victims. Cruder scenarios may involve the terrorists for leaving “dirty biological bomb” comprising of virus-infected fluid among any thickly populated city or through some suicidal volunteers who purposely cause infections to themselves to spread the virus among other population.
Dr Ryan Hall, a forensic psychologist says that if you intend to counter a dirty biological bomb, first of all, you need bags of vomit so that any part of vomit should not spread in the atmosphere. He has discussed all of this in his study about “Psychological trauma associated with bioterrorism”. According to him, that there would be huge waves of fear which would have been generated by the stress of unknown coming health problems.
The lawmakers are not properly alarming the population about such dangerous actions which would be not so easy to tackle. Actually the law makers and the main security persons have been more concerned with the spreading of the decease accidently by the travelers as carriers moving towards Texas from Liberia. The law makers have a minute intension towards creation of dirty bomb of the virus, but they have idea regarding spreading of the virus by terrorists in middle east or some other place where they are more active.
Tom Coburn and R=Okla said that there are more serious threats from the like home grown extremists of Al Quida and ISIL entering through the southern borders and spreading conventional weapons and explosives in major metropolitan areas, instead of any threat regarding creation of Ebola biological bomb.
The recent strain spread in an area of West Africa which is called as Ebola Zaire, the rate of killing of the decease is 70%. According to the scientists this virus is not spreading through air but it only affects through some contact with the body fluids of a person like mucus, blood or vomit. For this reasons the hospital staff are checking the family members of a man recently reported in Dallas, Texas and are waiting about signs or symptoms for the reason of its rapidly spreading nature. Here question arises that what might happens if it passes into the wrong hands. It has been reported that in 1992 one Japanese Aum Shinrikyo went to Zaire to collect Ebola samples but there is no information that they had succeeded to bring the virus to home to formulate it into some spreadable condition. In a hearing on Capitol Hill, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse D-R.I. questioned that as to whether somebody could make anything more transmittable in comparison with this deadly virus Ebola. In reply Dr Anthony Fouci, the head of National Institute of Infectious deceases and Allergies, said ‘yes’. Fauci continued that there might be too many difficulties for this job, the first problem is that it would not be easy for anybody to do that in all in any unsafe laboratory or in any normal building. In this way they would kill themselves doing this. He added that in his opinion only some highly technically trained person can attempt to do so and at the very first step they would have to collect samples of this deadly virus and further have to transfer them in some appropriate laboratory. They must have full knowledge that how to tackle the virus of Ebola, which according to science workers, handling of this virus means to work by wearing space suits with a bio safety level of4 containment facilities. After that they may require the knowledge to cultivate the virus at a large scale and then confine it into some carrying pot like an aerosol for the purposes of dispersing it on a large scale.
Coburn a ranking member of the Senate Homeland security and Government affair committee has said in a statement to the Fox news that the preparation of the virus Ebola as a weapon actually is a challenge because it requires qualified experts with modern equipment and with advanced training which would be very difficult at any smaller level and only can be obtained at state level.
It has been reported that in 1980, the scientists of former Soviet Union had attempted to cultivate Ebola for some biological weapon program but were failed. According to a report by Ken Alibek, a soviet biological warfare researcher, the soviet scientists were succeeded to prepare another deadly virus in the name of ‘Marburg’
But the other position requires less knowhow and might be more effective, that is suicidal bombers or a group of some persons willing to put themselves at risk, infecting themselves with the Ebola virus for the purpose to transmit Ebola to other persons.
According to a physician and ex food& drug inspector of the times of George W. Bush government namely Scott Gottlieb, it does not get a lot of sophistication to do such low technique work like this because even one person with this aim can do crude. On an airport in Nigeria a federal air marshal who was dealing with Ebola outbreak was stabbed by a person with a syringe. Test of that syringe proved that there was no Ebola or any other dangerous agent in the vial, but the incident alarmed the concerned people that some virus could be transmitted in this way too for deliberate spreading in one swift violence act. The department of Homeland security was duly informed but no response was received; Gotttlieb suspected that perhaps the government agencies have thought already about these scenarios and are well aware about the risks. The standard counter terrorism agency is currently running a Bio-defense analysis and Counter measures centre as a threat assessment and bio forensic laboratory at Detrick in Maryland.
Let us examine some details of this viral decease. EVD (Ebola virus decrease) EHF (Ebola hemorrhagic fever) or simple Ebola, is a dangerous decease of human beings and other primates which is caused by a virus known as Ebola. Its signs and symptoms usually start in between two days and three weeks after coming in contract with the virus. The symptoms start with sore throat, muscular pain, headache and fever. Then functions of kidneys and liver are decreased. Afterwards diarrhea, rash and vomiting starts. Sometimes both externally and internally bleeding may occur. In between six to sixteen days of appearance of symptoms, due to low blood pressure by loss of fluids this virus causes death at an average of 50 % of the infected persons.
This virus may spread through direct contact with body fluids such as blood of a human being infected by this or of some other animal. This might also been occurred through contact with some item prepared by body fluid of any infected animal. Spreading of this virus through air in between the primates including the human beings has not been witnessed either in natural conditions or in laboratory tests. If any person has been recovered from Ebola Virus Decease, the semen and the breast milk would have carried the virus for a long period consisting upon several weeks. Commonly the fruit bats are being believed as the normal carrier in nature of the Ebola virus to spread it without affecting itself.
In case of outbreak, the control requires coordination in medical services along with the engagement of the community at high level. The rapid detection of the decrease in the society is included in the medical services. Investigation of the persons who are regularly visiting the persons infected by the virus, quick access to the services of a laboratory , appropriate care of health for the persons infected and appropriate disposal of corpses by burial them properly.
The parts of tissues and fluids of body collected as samples of the affected persons with the decease must be dealt high level care and cautions. Preventive measures are to be taken for controlling the expansion of decease virus from animals with this infection to human beings. This all is to be done through potentially treating the bush meat suspected to have infection, by using appropriate kits of protection and fully cook the meat prior to eat. Measure be taken consciously by wearing proper clothing of protection and washing hands with detergents when any affected person with the decease is found around.
Yet there is no proper vaccine or any specific treatment available for the control of Ebola virus but many potential treatments are being studied. However the supporting efforts have given good results. The very first step is oral rehydration therapy, slightly drinking salty and sweetened water or giving fluids by intravenous injections along with treatment of the symptoms.
The decease has been named with the Ebola River of Africa because at the very first time the decease was identified in 1976 in a village Yambuku near this river and simultaneously in another village with the name of Nzara. Afterwards the outbreaks of Ebola Virus decease occurred intermittently in various tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. IN between 1976 &2013 the World Health Organization reported totally 24 outbreaks where 1716 cases were involved. The largest outbreak was on going in the areas of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea of the tropical region of West Africa.asa report of 15 April 2015, in these outbreak 25890 cases were reported which were resulted in 10717 deaths.

Reservoir
Yet the natural reservoirs for the virus Ebola has not been confirmed however the bats are being considered the mostly liked candidate species. three kinds of fruit bats Myonycteris torquata, Hypsignathus monstrousus and Epomops franqueti are found the possible carriers of the virus without getting self sick. Birds, plants and arthropods my also been considered as possible viral reservoirs but as of 2013 report, as to whether other animals are also involved in spreading the decease is not known yet.
In 1976 and 1979 the initial outbreaks were observed in a cotton factory and the bats were reported to roost there, they had also been implicated in viral infections of Marburg in 1975 and in 1980. About 24 plants and 19 vertebrate species were included in experiments in respect of Ebola virus, all were clear and only bats were found infected by this virus. The bats display no clinical sign of decease hence it is a considerable piece of evidence that the bats are the reservoirs of the virus of Ebola viral decease.
In 2002-2003 a survey was conducted of 1030 animals including 679 bats from the areas of Gabon and Republic of Congo, from these all animals only 13 fruit bats were found containing Ebola virus. As the presence of the virus is concerned within the territories of sub continent Asia, some presence has been witnessed in Bangladesh about Reston and Zaire viruses which are found in fruit bats in and strongly suggests that these are too the actual hosts of these virus as well as these are also detected in the areas of sub- continent of Asia.
In a period of 22 years in between 1976 and 1998 about 30000 samples were collected from different kinds of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and arthropods from the regions of Ebola outbreaks, from Central African Republic, but no virus of Ebola was detected apart from genetic traces which were found in six rodents belonged to typical species of Mus setulosus, Praomys and Shrew (Sylvisorex ollula)
The gorillas and chimpanzees were infected by the Ebola virus during outbreaks of 2001 and 2003 and afterwards these became the sources of transfer of infections in human beings. However the high death rates in these gorillas and chimpanzees in a result of Ebola virus spread has confirmed that these species do not represent as a natural reservoir of Ebola virus.
The capability of the countries in respect of correct medically isolation procedure, where this virus has potential to spread infection widely, is too low. Moreover when someone has got signs and symptoms of the decease, they are not able to travel alone without any assistance. The dead body remains infectious therefore the persons handling the human remains, in general practice such as burial traditionally or for adopting modern process such as embalming are at the top risk. In Guinea during the outbreak of Ebola in 2014 about 69 percent of the cases were reported to having contract without protection or unsuitable protection in contacting the infected dead bodies in their burial. Mainly the health worker treats the Ebola effected patients are at the great risk of infections. The risk is enhanced when the health care workers do not use appropriate clothing for protection such as gloves, masks, gowns and eye protections or do not wear these properly or handled the clothing of contaminated persons in incorrect way. Such risk is very common in the various part of Africa where the decease has roots and outbreaks mostly and where the functions of health systems are too poor. In some African countries, there is transmission in hospitals that hypodermic needles are being reused. In various health care centers where the people are being treated with the decease, there is no supply of running water. In United States the spreading infections in two medical workers giving treatments to infected persons caused rising of criticism on inadequate procedures and training.
During Ebola out breaks the human to human transmission of the virus has never been reported. The airborne transmission has only been observed in too strict conditions in laboratories and in some rare cases from pig to the human but never ever from a primate to any other primate. Spreading of the Ebola virus though food not including the bush meat, and through water has not been reported anywhere. Not any spread through any mosquito or by any other insect has been reported. Apparently the lack of airborne transmission in the human is witnessed to be due to presence of a very low level of the virus in the lungs and in other parts of respiratory systems of the primates, which are quite insufficient to create any new infection. All the studies have resulted in the conclusion that transmission of the Ebola virus from pigs to primates can be happen though air and without any direct contact because unlike other primates and human beings the pigs having Ebola virus Disease get very high concentration of virus in their lungs and not in the bloodstream. Therefore the pigs having the disease of Ebola virus may spread it through droplets on the ground or in the air whenever they cough or sneeze. And by contrast the other primates and human beings accumulate the Ebola virus in their blood and throughout their bodies but not more in their lungs. In this situation it is to be believe that according to the researches this observation has come clear that pigs to primate transmission of Ebola virus is possible without any physical contact. But there is no evidence that the primates are being infected in absence of any actual contact, even during any experiment where uninfected and infected primates were sharing the same air.
The outbreak of Ebola in Africa is mainly due to preparation of bush meat for cooking. There the wild animals including fruit bats are being hunted for the purposes of food and are being subjected to as bush meat. Within the territories of Africa the consumption of the bush meat by the human beings is linked to animal-to-human transmission of various diseases and Ebola is included with them.
Since it is not very clear that as to how this virus of Ebola was initially transmitted to the human beings from the animals. However it is believed that the spread might be involved due to direct contact of any person with some wild infected animal or fruit bat. In addition to bats the other wild animals are also sometimes are reported to be found infected with Ebola virus and these animals include many species of monkeys, duikers, gorillas, baboons and chimpanzees.
Animals, when eat that fruit which has been partially eaten bats carrying the virus may get infection. Animal behavior, production of fruit and some other factors may cause outbreak of Ebola among the population of the animal empire.
It has been proved through evidence that both the domestic pet pigs and dogs also can be infected by Ebola virus. Though in a dog the development of symptoms does not appear when it carries the virus but a pig appears to be able for transmitting the virus into some other primates. Though in the areas where human outbreak was occurred, some dogs had antibodies to Ebola virus but yet it is not much clear that whether these dogs played an effective role in spreading the disease among the people of the area.

The workers who are on duty to have care for those infected persons with Ebola must use protective clothing including gowns, gloves, goggles and…