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Ebola Virus

Case Study

By:Shahrzad MorimMonica Delgado

Janine Gilkes

Microbiology 4 !Dr" #ancy Mc$ueen

%all & '

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The former Soviet Union had an active state-supported bio-weapon research and production program from the 1970s through the mid 90’s. One branch of the program was ca ed !"#TO$-the State $esearch #enter for !iro og% and &iotechno og%. The% wor'ed with pathogens forwhich there is no 'nown cure. (hi e wor'ing to deve op a vaccine against "bo a virus) one ofthe scientists accidenta % stuc' herse f with a need e contaminated with virus. She contracted

"bo a hemorrhagic fever and died.

!( )hat are the *otential bene+its o+ ,merican aid to con-ert VEC./01s bio2ea*on+acilities to *eace+ul research3 )hat are the *otential hazards3

!"#TO$ is a eve * biosafet% ab designed for the purpose of creating genetica %a tered viruses. +ccording to the ,a as Observer) 000) / n 199 2) the U.S. governmentapproached UT Southwestern 3edica #enter with the idea of forming a co aborative effort

between ,a as and Siberia /!"#TO$2 aimed at deve oping a vaccine against "bo a. The U.S.,efense ,epartment) in fact) is not on % pa%ing for the e4periment) but now direct % funds theoperations of !"#TO$ in $ussia5 6 8. There are severa benefits and ha ards which come as a

resu t of this venture. Scientists are ab e to retain their :obs and increase scientific 'now edge andresearch in this fie d) thereb% reassuring the U.S. that their 'now edge and e4pertise of bio ogicaweapons wi not fa into the wrong hands. The US wi be at the forefront of and be ab e toindu ge in an% brea'throughs made. U.S. +id assists in strengthening ties and dip omac% betweenUS and $ussia. ;owever) with increased trust) comes increased comp acenc%. There are fourother weapons abs in $ussia which go unchec'ed and without inspection. +dditiona %)according to 3i er) 00*) at the time of the accident invo ving the fema e emp o%ee) !"#TO$c aimed that the research was being funded b% an outside part% but refused to identif% their

benefactor or state the nature of the research6 8. t ma% a so be difficu t to ver% whether or notsome former soviet scientists are using the +merican supported research for peacefu purposes.There seems to be an overa ac' of accountabi it% and that ma% cause strain on this re ative %new re ationship in the future.

&" )hat tissue s( does the *athogen damage that leads to hemorrhaging3

nfection b% "bo a virus mimic nonspecific f u- i'e s%mptoms such as fever) m%a gia) andma aise6 8. <atients with progressed ce damage and infection e4hibit severe b eeding andcoagu ation abnorma ities) inc uding gastrointestina b eeding) rash) and a range of hemato ogicairregu arities) such as %mphopenia and neutrophi ia61 8. (hen the immune s%stem is fightingagainst this vira pathogen) c%to'ines signa immune ce s such as T-ce s and macrophages totrave to the site of "bo a virus infection 61=8. The immune ce s are activated b% c%to'ines)stimu ating them to produce more c%to'ines. The products are then re eased to interact with thevirus. This rapid inf u4 of immune ce s contributes to an e4aggerated inf ammator% immuneresponse which is actua % damaging to the tissues infected with virions.,amage to the iver) combined with massive viremia) eads to disseminated intravascu ar

coagu opath% 61*8. f the infection progresses in viru ence the virus wi enter microvascu arendothe ia ce s. "4tensive damage b% the infi tration of immune ce s eads to the terminastages of "bo a virus infection) which usua % inc ude diffuse b eeding) and h%potensive shoc'accounts for man% "bo a virus fata ities.

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5( 6o2 could you ha-e *re-ented this outbreak +rom s*reading to other scientists atVEC./03

To prevent this outbrea' from spreading to others in the ab) initia %) the infectedindividua s shou d be iso ated to imit direct contact with others. Then) contaminated and waste

products shou d be disposed of proper %. t’s important to ensure that a the used e>uipmentswere disposed or steri i ed) disinfecting those that had needed to be reused b% others.#ommunication with the emp o%ees and staff about the nature of the situation is another 'e%method in order to have them ta'e an% and a precautionar% measures 618.

4( 6o2 is this -irus transmitted3 )hat *recautions need to be taken 2hen 2orking 2iththis deadly -irus3

The "bo a !irus is transmitted from person to person b% intimate contact with infected b ood) secretions) organs) or semen 6198. The infectious virus within a host can transmit to othersas ong as the virus components remain within the b ood stream 6198. n the ear % stages) "bo ama% not be high % contagious. #ontact with someone in ear % stages ma% not even transmit the

disease. +s the i ness progresses) bodi % f uids from diarrhea) vomiting) and b eeding representan e4treme bioha ard61?8.The infection of human cases with "bo a virus has been documentedthrough the hand ing of infected chimpan ees) gori as) and forest ante opes) both dead and a ive)as was documented in #@te dA voire) the $epub ic of #ongo and Babon61 8. The transmission ofthe "bo a $eston strain through the hand ing of c%nomo gus mon'e%s has a so been reported61=8.

#aution must be ta'en even after a patient recovers from the s%mptoms of this virus. Theinfected person can transmit the virus to others even after the% have fu % recovered from i ness.+ though airborne transmission of "bo a virus is probab e) there is no direct evidence of thish%pothesis 6 8.

;ea th care wor'ers are common % infected whi e treating "bo a patients. These wor'ersoften must be in c ose contact with infected patients and infected e>uipment. The identificationand the iso ation of virus infected patients is critica and must fo ow barrier nursing proceduresto prevent the rapid spread of this high % contagious pathogen. n countries where sanitation andsteri e techni>ues are not enforced or are simp % unattainab e) transmission of the virus via basiccare techni>ues is common.

&uria ceremonies where mourners have direct contact with the bod% of the deceased person can p a% a significant ro e in the transmission of "bo a 6178. +irborne transmission between mon'e%s has been observed b% an accidenta outbrea' in a aborator% ocated in!irginia) US+.

7( )hat is currently belie-ed to be the animal reser-oir o+ Ebola -irus3t has been shown that the initia "bo a infections of humans on the +frican continent

have occurred due to direct contact with the carcasses of gori as) chimpan ees) mon'e%s) andforest ante opes found dead in the rainforest 6 8. "ven though the source of infection for humanshas been non-human primates) the fact that these species had a high morta it% means the% are notthe reservoir for the virus 6118. Other species of iving organisms) such as p ants) birds) andarthropods have been considered as reservoirs as we C however) more current evidence points at

bats as the carrier for this dead % virus 6108.

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,uring the human epidemics in 001 and 00 ) "bo a virus was detected in the carcassesof gori as) chimpan ees) and dui'ers 678. ,uring these outbrea's) researchers from Drench$esearch nstitute for ,eve opment 6 $,8 surve%ed more than 1)000 sma vertebrates in areasthat were in c ose pro4imit% of carcasses of infected anima s 678.+fter ana % ing their data) $,researchers were the first to officia % identif% bats as a potentia reservoir of "bo a virus. The%

found the genetic se>uences of "bo a virus or evidence of an immune response to the virus inthree species of fruit batsE Hypsignathus monstrosus, Epomops franqueti and Myonycteristorquata 678. 3ore specifica %) "bo a $F+ se>uences were detected in the iver and sp een ofthese anima s) and antibodies against one of the four subt%pes of "bo a was detected in theirserum. The bats did not show s%mptoms of infection and did not deve op the disease. This factimp ies that these anima s are a potentia reservoir for "bo a virus 678.

"vidence has a so shown that the arge primates had the highest morta it% rate throughoutthe dr% season during which there is a ot of food competition between species due to resourcedeficiencies 678. n this period) species are in c oser contact because of scarce food resources andcou d get contaminated more easi %. Durthermore) it has been 'nown that the immune function in

bats is somehow modified during the dr% season) which provides the virus with more favorab e

conditions to reproduce 678.n this proposa ) bats are more i'e % to pass the virus onto great apes) inc uding gori asand chimpan ees) which have had a high morta it% rate 678. + so) bats cou d infect humansdirect %) especia % since one of the species of the discovered bats are often caught and eaten b%

peop e who ive in epidemic-prone regions 67) 108. ,espite the discover% of these bats as the potentia reservoir for "bo a virus) e4tensive eco ogica investigations are sti underwa% in the$epub ic of #ongo and Babon to further confirm the reservoir for this dead % virus.

8( Com*are this *athogen 2ith small*o9 as a *otential bio2ea*on" )hich could be moredangerous as a 2ea*on o+ mass destruction3

&io ogica weapons 6&(s8 de iver to4ins and microorganisms) such as viruses and bacteria) and aim to de iberate % inf ict disease among peop e) anima s) and agricu ture 6?8.Severa viruses have been identified as dangerous pathogens that can be used as bio-weaponsduring wars. Sma po4 6vario a virus8 and "bo a virus are both among the categor% one) the mostdangerous) agents in the c assification s%stem b% the #enters for ,isease #ontro and <revention6#,#8. That means the% are among the agents that can be easi % transmitted) have high potentiafor morta it%) create great pub ic panic) and re>uire pub ic preparedness 6?8. f a transmissib eagent) such as the sma po4 or "bo a virus) infects someone at the site of its re ease) thatindividua cou d trave and spread the agent to others. This wou d resu t in secondar% infectionsat areas other than the origina ocation 6?8. +ccording to an artic e pub ished b% Fationa #enterfor nfectious ,iseases) an agent must have severa >ua ities to be used for mass destruction. tshou d be etha and producib e in arge >uantities. t shou d be communicab e from person to

person) and there shou d not be treatments or vaccines for the deve oping disease 6=8. "venthough both "bo a virus and sma po4 virus can both be turned into bio-weapons) sma po4 posesa greater danger in terms of mass destruction.

"bo a virus infection causes sudden sever onset of s%mptoms) has a short incubation period) and causes death within severa da%s 6 8. Therefore) individua s infected with this virusma% die before the% can transmit the disease to other individua s. This resu ts in outbrea's that

burn out >uic' % 61 8. Sma po4) on the other hand) has a onger incubation period between

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contraction and the first obvious s%mptoms of the disease 61 -1* da%s8. The patient is notcontagious unti the first s%mptoms arrive) however) the initia s%mptoms cou d usua % be vagueand f u- i'e 61 8. Sma po4 can deve op into two ma:or formsE vario a ma:or and vario a minor)with 0G and 1G rates of fata it%) respective %. This disease cou d a so occur in two rare formsof hemorrahgic and ma ignant) which are both a most a wa%s fata 61 8. t has been shown that

the Haire subt%pe of "bo a virus has 'i ed 0G of its victims 678.There is not an% evidence that suggests transmission of "bo a virus between humansthrough the air. ;owever) sma po4 can be aeroso i ed) and since it’s a re ative % stab e virus) itcou d remain infective at east severa hours if there is no sun ight or U! ight e4posure 6=)?)1 8.This transmission through air ma'es this virus more communicab e between individua s) andadds to its contagiousness. This virus can a so be produced in a arge sca e 6=8. Sma po4 virusinfection can spread in an% c imate or season) whi e that of the "bo a infection has highermorta it% rates during certain periods 6=8. The fact that sma po4 can be easi % transmitted

between individua s poses a great ris'. The natura host for vario a virus is humans) un i'e thatfor "bo a virus) which seems to be anima s 6fruit bats8 61 8.

+t this time) there is no vaccine or treatment avai ab e for the disease deve oping from

"bo a virus infection 618) and this cou d ma'e this a dangerous pathogen as a bio-weapon.;owever) it shou d be noted that the vaccine that was deve oped against sma po4 in 19?7 hasnot been routine % provided since 197 in the U.S.) due to the fact that the ris' for this disease

became minima 6=8. 3oreover) there is no effective treatment for sma po4. This virus wasfina % eradicated in 1979 from the wor d. +t this point) the surve% b% (or d ;ea th Organi ation6(;O8 revea s the avai abi it% of appro4imate % 90 mi ion doses of stored sma po4 vaccinewor dwideC however) the viabi it% and storage conditions and are not 'nown 61 8. t’s beendetermined that the vaccine wi wor' it it’s administered up to * da%s after the vira e4posure61 8. This period is short since most serious s%mptoms wi not show b% this time. This e4treme

imit on sma po4 vaccine ma'es this virus a dangerous pathogen.+nother important point with sma po4 patients is that the% wou d not die >uic' %.

Therefore) their need for iso ated rooms in the hospita ) disposab e e>uipments) medications) andhea thcare providers is a ong-term re>uisite 6=8. ,uring an outbrea') managing these tas's cou d

be >uite a difficu t tas') which not on % poses financia cost) but can a so increase the ris' oftransmission of infection to other hea th% individua s during hospita i ation.

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$eferences

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8 3i er) K. Russian Scientist Dies in Ebola cci!ent at "ormer #eapons $ab . The Few Lor'Times. <ub ishedE =J =J 00*. $etrievedE 11J1 J 007httpEJJ>uer%.n%times.com

8 <appa ardo) K. "rom Russia, %ith bugs &'S subsi!i(ing Russian )iological #arfare $ab* +,a as Observer. <ub ishedE ?J J 000. $etrievedE 11J1*J07httpEJJfreepub ic.com

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98 ;oenen et a . Ebola Virus: 'nra.elling Pathogenesis to 5ombat a Dea!ly Disease . Trends3o . 3ed. 3a% 00?) 1 6=8E 0?- 1=108 Mero%) "3) Iimu ugui) &) <ourrut) N et al . Druit &ats as $eservoirs of "bo a !irus. 4ature .

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Microbes an! -nfection . 00=. 7E100= 101*1 8 $etrieved 11J11J07http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/health/20030506_Ebola_COMP !E/sci_Ebola_COM

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<rovisiona $evisionE 007

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