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A deadly Ebola outbreak has occurred recently. The virus originated in West Africa, and it most likely started with a single infected person. This virus can be traced genetically to a single introduction, perhaps by a bat.
Ebola is a deadly virus that causes internal and external bleeding. As the virus spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs. It causes levels of blood-clotting cells to drop, which leads to uncontrollable bleeding.
This virus kills up to 90% of people infected. Ebola often feels like the flu with symptoms that show up between 2 to 21 days of contracting the virus. Symptoms are: high fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, weakness, stomach pain, and lack of appetite.
Studies show a picture of how the virus spread from Guinea to Sierra Leone and Liberia in an outbreak that has stolen over 1,500 lives – including five reporters on the Ebola case. One thing for certain is that it is being spread by human contact.
“We can see it entering different villages,” said Pardis Sabeti, a senior associate member at the Broad Institute and an associate professor at Harvard University. Sabeti also stated “All the sequences are very similar, suggesting it came from a common source.”
On Thursday, World Health Organization predicted that the epidemic would spread to as many as 20,000 people before it comes to a halt. About 3,000 people have already been infected with 1,500 deaths known to doctors.
More than 200 deaths have been health care workers. Sabeti told NBC news “Five members of our teams have lost their battle with Ebola–It’s frightening.”
CDC confirmed the first U.S case on September 30, 2014, in Dallas from a man who had recently traveled to Liberia and back. He did not have symptoms when leaving Liberia, however, he developed symptoms approximately four days after returning home.
Shortly after on October 10th a healthcare worker at Texas Presbyterian hospital, who cared for the previous patient, tested positive for the virus. The patient was isolated, but quickly recovered and was discharged on October 24.
U.S. officials announced the start of the first human trials of a new vaccine next week. This vaccine is the first in a series of small safety tests. Unfortunately, any results will come too late to help anyone in the current outbreak.
This genetic testing is supposed to help people understand just how the virus is spreading so that health workers can get a hold on it.
All viruses mutate and these mutations can be used as a sort of “clock” to trace the evolution and movement of the Ebola virus. The virus seems to be mutating twice as fast in humans than originally in animals.
The genetics of Ebola are showing that this particular strain of Ebola has separated from the strains known to pop up in Central Africa around 2004. The more this virus spreads from person to person, the more it is going to adapt.