News tagged with ebola virus

Ebola's secret weapon revealed

Researchers have discovered the mechanism behind one of the Ebola virus' most dangerous attributes: its ability to disarm the adaptive immune system.

Medical research created May 02, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study reveals natural process that blocks viruses

The human body has the ability to ward off viruses by activating a naturally occurring protein at the cellular level, setting off a chain reaction that disrupts the levels of cholesterol required in cell membranes to enable ...

Medical research created Apr 17, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

New study finds malaria, typhoid—not Ebola—biggest health threat for travelers to tropics

Feeling feverish after a visit to the tropics? It may not just be a bout with this year's flu. If you're a Western traveler, malaria and typhoid fever should top the list of diseases to discuss with your doctor when you return, ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jan 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists identify protective role for antibodies in Ebola vaccine study

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) have found that an experimental vaccine elicits antibodies that can protect nonhuman primates from Ebola virus infection.

Medical research created Jan 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Ebola virus uses a protein decoy to subvert the host immune response

In a study published today in the Open Access journal PLOS Pathogens, researchers at Emory University have discovered a potentially important mechanism by which the Ebola virus alters and evades the immune response of its ...

Immunology created Dec 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Canada lab probes pig link to Ebola virus

Could pigs be an unexpected source for transmitting the deadly Ebola virus?

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Nov 15, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Two dead in new outbreak of Ebola in Uganda (Update)

A fresh outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in central Uganda has killed at least two people, the health minister said Thursday.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Nov 15, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers suggest some emerging infectious diseases may have been around a long time

(Medical Xpress)—A genetics research team led by Pardis Sabeti of Harvard University has published a paper in the journal Science, suggesting that some infectious diseases that are thought to be relati ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Nov 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Ebola antibody treatment, produced in plants, protects monkeys from lethal disease

A new Ebola virus study resulting from a widespread scientific collaboration has shown promising preliminary results, preventing disease in infected nonhuman primates using monoclonal antibodies.

Medical research created Oct 15, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Animals suspected in spread of new virus (Update)

Britain's Health Protection Agency has published an early genetic sequence of the new respiratory virus related to SARS that shows it is most closely linked to bat viruses, and scientists say camels, sheep or goats might ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Sep 28, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Ebola claims up to 33 lives in DR Congo: health ministry

An outbreak of Ebola fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo may have killed up to 33 people, while the number of suspected cases has risen, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Sep 27, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Ebola claims up to 32 lives in DR Congo: WHO (Update)

An outbreak of Ebola fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo may have claimed up to 32 lives since May, including that of a woman who had just given birth, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Sep 18, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists reveal how deadly Marburg virus silences immune system

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the structure of a critical protein from the Marburg virus, a close cousin of Ebola virus. These viruses cause similar diseases and are some of ...

Medical research created Sep 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New approach needed to tackle emerging zoonotic diseases

(Medical Xpress)—A more coordinated approach to surveillance is required if emerging diseases which can spread from animals to humans are to be tackled, say scientists.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Sep 10, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

UN calls for $2mn to fight deadly Ebola outbreak in DR Congo

The United Nations appealed Wednesday for $2 million (1.6 million euros) to fight an epidemic of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has killed 14 people.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Sep 05, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Ebola

Ivory Coast ebolavirus Reston ebolavirus Sudan ebolavirus

Ebola is the common term for a group of viruses belonging to genus Ebolavirus (EBOV), which is a part of the family Filoviridae, and for the disease that they cause, Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The virus is named after the Ebola River, where the first recognized outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever occurred. The viruses are characterized by long filaments, and have a shape similar to that of the Marburg virus, also in the family Filoviridae, and possessing similar disease symptoms.

There are a number of species within the ebolavirus genus, which in turn have a number of specific strains or serotypes. The Zaïre virus is the type species, which is also the first discovered and the most lethal. Ebola is transmitted primarily through bodily fluids and to a limited extent through skin and mucous membrane contact. The virus interferes with the endothelial cells lining the interior surface of blood vessels and platelet cells. As the blood vessel walls become damaged and the platelets are unable to coagulate, patients succumb to hypovolemic shock.

Ebola first emerged in 1976 in Zaire. It remained largely obscure until 1989 with a widely publicized outbreak in Reston, Virginia.

For more information about Ebola, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.