Running head: EBOLA

Ebola: The New Pandemic?

Nicole Hernandez
Cal State San Bernardino

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Abstract

The recent epidemic of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa has become a pandemic of
our times. With the relentless work of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World
Health Organization (WHO) and other health organizations, our country is fighting a deadly
disease which has an average case fatality rate of around 50% (World Health Organization
[WHO], 2014). In history, the EVD has been limited to the Eastern hemisphere in countries such
as Sudan and Africa. However, recently, the EVD has been confirmed in the United States.

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Ebola: The New Pandemic?

Ebola. A word, a term, and a disease most Americans have not had to add to the list of
diseases to be careful of or protect themselves from. In the history of the Ebolavirus (EBOV),
the United States has never had a case of human infection of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) that
is caused from EBOV. There have been movies and books that have written of the EBOV being
spread in foreign countries or being used for warfare and/or terrorism or brought back to the
United States by a hitchhiking monkey. However, outbreaks of the Ebola virus have never been
a realityuntil now. The current outbreak in West Africa is the largest and most complex Ebola
outbreak since the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 (WHO, 2014). Not only was there a
current outbreak in West Africa, on September 30, 2014; but, the first human case of EVD was
confirmed in Dallas, Texas and on October 8, 2014. That person died from complications of
EVD. In addition, a healthcare worker at the same hospital where the person was infected with
EVD, has now also tested positive for EVD.
What is Ebola?
Ebola is a shortened name for the Ebolavirus (EBOV). EBOV is a virological taxon with
five known species. Taxonomy is the science of defining groups of biological organisms based
on their shared characteristics and giving names to those groups. EBOV has been listed by the
World Health Organization (WHO) as a biosafety 4 level contaminant (the highest level with the
most risk of containing threatening microbes) and by the CDC as a Category A bioterrorism
agent (the highest-priority level containing organisms that pose a risk to national security).
EBOV works by entering the host cell and using the hosts cells to replicate themselves. Once
they have produced multiple copies of themselves, they become a macromolecular structure
which ends up destroying the original host cell and the virus takes over.

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Four of the species of EBOV cause the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in humans. EVD has
the largest number of outbreaks and has the highest mortality rate. The first outbreak of this virus
was in 1976 in Zaire causing 280 deaths. This was the first time EVD had been recognized.
Since 1976, most of the cases of EVD have been identified in the Eastern hemisphere in
countries such as Sudan, South Africa, Congo and recently in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia,
Sierra Leone).
How can it be prevented?
In order to contract EVD one must be in close contact with the blood, secretions, organs
or other bodily fluids, and with surfaces and objects that have been contaminated by the fluids of
the infected animal or person. Transmission can only occur through direct contact of these fluids
through broken skin or mucous membranes. This would seem to clarify why human
transmission of the virus has been limited to countries where meticulous sanitary precautions are
maintained in order to prevent the spread of disease. In order to contract EVD you must be in
close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids, and with surfaces and
objects that have been contaminated by the fluids of the infected animal or person. Transmission
can only occur through direct contact of these fluids through broken skin or mucous membranes.
The signs and symptoms of EVD are fever (greater than 38.6C or 101.5F); severe headache;
muscle pain; weakness; diarrhea; vomiting; abdominal pain or unexplained hemorrhage
(bleeding or bruising) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).

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What is being done?

The CDC and WHO are working persistently to prevent, isolate and control the spread of
EVD. They have activated Emergency Operation Centers which maintain current outbreak
information in order to delegate necessary actions to other health organizations for
implementation. The CDC and WHO are working with Customs and Border Patrol to increase
screening of people entering the United States from affected countries by sending expert
virologists and scientists to the affected countries to try to eradicate the disease and prevent any
further spreading, educating the United States healthcare facilities on proper prevention and
isolation of EVD in the event of exposure.
How safe are we?
Between the media and cinema, our notions of rare communicable diseases are limited to
speculation and subjectivity. There are hundreds of thousands of microorganisms surrounding us
daily and some have the potential to cause illness or even death. However, unless we have an
immune disorder that prevents our bodies from properly functioning the way it should, our
bodies can naturally fight off these microorganisms. There are a few deadly viruses that are
worth mentioning such as Smallpox, Polio, AIDS, and Ebola. Still, we live in a country where
we are at the top of the list in medical and scientific breakthroughs. Our health organizations
react to these diseases swiftly and efficiently to prevent further spread of the disease. We are
only as safe as our knowledge. Knowing how to prevent transmission of diseases, we all can
contribute to the health and safety of our environment and society and prevent a pandemic.

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References
World Health Organization. (September 2014). Ebola Virus Disease. Retrieved from
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/>.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Oct. 2014). Signs and Symptoms. Retrieved from
<http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/symptoms/index.html>.