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Infectious Disease
Published in John S. Axford, Chris A. O'Callaghan, Medicine for Finals and Beyond, 2023
Susanna J. Dunachie, Hanif Esmail, Ruth Corrigan, Maria Dudareva
Ebola virus disease (previously known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) is a severe and often fatal disease of humans caused by the Ebola virus, a single-stranded RNA virus. There are five strains of Ebola virus.
The Black Death and Other Pandemics
Published in Scott M. Jackson, Skin Disease and the History of Dermatology, 2023
Numerous other infectious diseases have been postulated as the cause of the Athenian plague. In 2005, researchers claimed to have extracted Salmonella typhi DNA from the teeth of the ancient remains in a mass grave, leading to the conclusion that typhoid fever was the cause of the plague. However, convincing arguments have come forth that the research was flawed.4 And the constellation of mucosal and skin findings described by Thucydides are not seen in typhoid fever, which has “rose spots” (small red flat spots on the torso), as its only skin finding. Other candidates for the Athenian plague are bubonic plague, epidemic typhus, and meningococcemia. Thucydides neglected to mention glandular swellings (buboes) as a feature of the disease, effectively ruling out bubonic plague. Another interesting hypothesis is that the Athenian plague was caused by Ebola hemorrhagic fever.5 Olson et al. point out that the plague was believed by the Greeks to come from Africa. Ebola is also associated with a sudden onset of fever, headache, and pharyngitis, followed by cough, vomiting, diarrhea, severe weakness, a red rash, and hemorrhage from various orifices. Arboviral (mosquito-borne) diseases, which can lead to encephalitis, should also be considered.
Recombinant DNA Technology and Gene Therapy Using Viruses
Published in Patricia G. Melloy, Viruses and Society, 2023
In addition to COVID-19 vaccines, viral vectors have been used in other circumstances such as for candidate Ebola vaccines. Two Ebola vaccines are in clinical trials right now. One uses a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), an animal virus, as a vector. The other uses a modified adenovirus from chimpanzees as a vector (NIAID 2022).
Infodemic, social contagion and the public health response to COVID-19: insights and lessons from Nigeria
Published in Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 2022
Bridget O. Alichie, Nelson Ediomo-Ubong, Blessing Nonye Onyima
The Ebola virus disease (EVD) is reportedly native to Africa where the first known case was discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Congo DRC (formerly Zaire), from where EVD derived its name. The earlier EVD outbreak mirrored a contagion being mainly restricted to the Congo DRC where it originated. However, the resurgence spread to a few other African countries in subsequent decades up until the end of the last century. The contemporary cases was however the widest and most protracted strain which occurred between 2013–2016 across West African countries [27,28]. The 2013–2016 outbreak as the most protracted strain culminated in the declaration of the EVD as a PHEIC by WHO four months into the 2013–2016 strain . By the time the West African region was declared Ebola-free in 2016, records of over 28 000 cases had been confirmed, with over 11 000 deaths [28].
A non-parametric Hawkes model of the spread of Ebola in west Africa
Published in Journal of Applied Statistics, 2022
Junhyung Park, Adam W. Chaffee, Ryan J. Harrigan, Frederic Paik Schoenberg
Data were collected and aggregated from the World Health Organization (WHO) outbreak reports on Ebola during and after the outbreak period [38]. These reports are typically released sub-weekly by WHO and include the country, geographic location within country (either by region, closest city, or village) as well as confirmed cases and deaths from Ebola virus. Following Althaus [1], data were filtered to include only a count of infection cases from Ebola at regular, reported time points in three regions: Southeast Guinea, Eastern Sierra Leone, and Northwest Liberia. The time range of these observations begins on 23 March 2014 and ends on 7 September 2014, again to align with Althaus [1]. In fitting Hawkes models, estimated occurrence times were distributed uniformly within report dates. For a small number of report dates, the cumulative count of cases was subsequently revised downwards by WHO; these revisions are ignored in the current analysis, as in Althaus [1]. The cumulative count of cases reported by the WHO, and the data used to fit Hawkes models are plotted in Figure 1. The weekly occurrence of cases is displayed as solid lines in Figure 4. A copy of the code, the data used in Althaus [1] and the data extending beyond the scope of this study, including the peak and decline of the outbreak can be found at http://www.stat.ucla.edu/simrederic/ebola.
Ophthalmic and psychosocial sequelae in Ebola virus disease survivors: ongoing need for health systems strengthening across disciplines
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2021
Dominick Canady, Natalie C. Weil, Christopher Miller, Jessica G. Shantha, Gilberte Bastien, Steven Yeh
Besides these therapeutic options, new vaccines and antiviral therapies have the potential to diminish the incidence and case fatality rate of Ebola. However, the West African EVD outbreak and recent EVD outbreaks in DRC have shown that there will continue to be thousands of EVD survivors at-risk for eye disease, which will require strengthening of vision health systems in resource-limited settings. The ongoing outbreak in the DRC has further illustrated the need for continued research to identify solutions to these multidisciplinary problems. International health organizations must continue to prioritize the health of EVD survivors once the immediate threat of Ebola infection has passed. A systematic, interdisciplinary approach to providing ophthalmic care and mental health services following an outbreak could minimize unnecessary disease morbidity and quality-of-life reduction during EVD convalescence.