Ebola Virus (Cont.)

Outbreaks of Ebola Virus

Ebola outbreaks typically appear sporadically. Confirmed cases of Ebola virus infections have been reported in:
 
  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Gabon
  • Sudan
  • The Ivory Coast
  • Uganda.

  

Ebola Virus in United States

In the United States, there have been no reported cases of Ebola virus infections in humans. Ebola-Reston virus caused severe illness and death in monkeys imported to research facilities in the United States and Italy from the Philippines; during these Ebola outbreaks, several research workers became infected with the virus, but did not become ill.
 

How Do Outbreaks of Ebola Virus Begin?

Just as scientists are unsure of the animal host for the Ebola virus, they are also unsure how an Ebola virus outbreak occurs; however, researchers have hypothesized that the first patient with Ebola becomes infected with Ebola virus through contact with an infected animal.
 

Transmission of Ebola Virus

Once transmission of Ebola virus occurs to the first human, scientists do know how Ebola virus is spread from human to human. They know that transmission of Ebola occurs through direct contact with patients who have Ebola, or direct contact with their body fluids (such as blood or secretions). Transmission of Ebola occurs most often when an infected person is in the late stages of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.
 

Ebola Virus as a Biological Weapon

In the aftermath of the events of September and October, 2001, there is heightened concern that the Ebola virus might be used as an agent of bioterrorism. The deliberate release of Ebola virus is now regarded as a possibility, and the United States is taking precautions to deal with this possibility.
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls the Ebola virus a Category A agent. Category A agents are believed to present the greatest potential threat for harming public health, and have a moderate to high potential for large-scale dissemination (spread). The public is generally more aware of category A agents, and broad-based public health preparedness efforts are necessary. Other Category A agents are:
 
  • Anthrax
  • Plague
  • Botulism (food poisoning from ingesting improperly canned, or preserved, food)
  • Tularemia (disease transmitted through the bite of an infected insect, or animal)
  • Smallpox.
     
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD