Ebola
Ebola hemorrahagic fever is a 20 year old virus that, with a mortality
rate of 50% to 90%, is one of the world's deadliest viruses. Its causative
organism is called Ebola virus. Ebola virus is a member of filoviridae, a
family of negative-strained RNA viruses. The filoviridae family consists of
five known members, Marburg, Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, Ebola Reston, and Ebola
Tai.
Ebola virus is spread in a number of ways. An outbreak starts when an
infected animal or insect, called a vector, transmits the virus to a human.
Scientists know that monkeys are both a vector and victim of Ebola, but other
vectors are unknown. The natural reservoir for the virus, or organism that is
immune to it and carries it is also unknown. A search for the reservoir will
take a long time because there are so many possibilities, since Africa is in the
tropics. Another way that humans can get Ebola is by eating an infected animal
or drinking the milk of an infected animal.
Ebola is......
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