Medicine

Ebola Virus: One of Its Most Deadly Forms

The history of the Ebola virus is believed to date back to the beginning of our planet, though it was only first discovered in 1976. A clue that indicates an ancient origin is that the molecule’s genetic code is one of the most primitive and ancient  having a single strand of RNA. The Hot Zone

The recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa, upon careful DNA analysis, is determined to be of the most deadly of the Ebola viruses known as the Zaire strain. This version of the Ebola virus typically kills up to 80 percent of the victims it infects. The name is derived from the 1976 outbreak in northern Zaire; for the Ebola River in Zaire (see table below from WHO International for exact number of deaths)

It takes only a small number of particles contracted through Blood-borne pathogens for an “extreme amplification” to erupt in Ebola Zaire’s host.

 

Table: Chronology of major Ebola haemorrhagic fever outbreaks (as of May 2012)

 

Year Country Virus subtype Cases Deaths Case fatality
2011 Uganda Ebola Sudan 1 1 100%
2008 Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola Zaire 32 14 44%
2007 Uganda Ebola Bundibugyo 149 37 25%
2007 Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola Zaire 264 187 71%
2005 Congo Ebola Zaire 12 10 83%
2004 Sudan Ebola Sudan 17 7 41%
2003 Congo Ebola Zaire 35 29 83%
(Nov-Dec)
2003 Congo Ebola Zaire 143 128 90%
(Jan-Apr)
2001-2002 Congo Ebola Zaire 59 44 75%
2001-2002 Gabon Ebola Zaire 65 53 82%
2000 Uganda Ebola Sudan 425 224 53%
1996 South Africa (ex-Gabon) Ebola Zaire 1 1 100%
1996 Gabon Ebola Zaire 60 45 75%
(Jul-Dec)
1996 Gabon Ebola Zaire 31 21 68%
(Jan-Apr)
1995 Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola Zaire 315 254 81%
1994 Cote d’Ivoire Ebola Ivory Coast 1 0 0%
1994 Gabon Ebola Zaire 52 31 60%
1979 Sudan Ebola Sudan 34 22 65%
1977 Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola Zaire 1 1 100%
1976 Sudan Ebola Sudan 284 151 53%
1976 Democratic Republic of Congo Ebola Zaire 318 280 88%

The Ebola Zaire strain

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/03/24/293754812/ebola-breaks-out-in-west-africa-for-the-first-time