Question

about the Ebola virus,

1. Which organ systems are involved?
2. How does Ebola virus spread?

Answer 1

Ebola virus along with some other visuses comes under family filoviridae,which frequently causes fatal viral haemorrhagic fever in humans.Transmission of this virus into human population is an extremely rare event ,most likely occours by direct or indirect contact with healthy mamalian filovirus hosts or by contact with infected,sick or deceased non human primates.Filoviruses are highly infectios but not very contagious. Natural human to human transmission takes place through direct person to person (like skin to skin) contact or exposure to infected body fluids or by parenteral inoculation.It is not transmitted by aerosol or respiratory droplets.

Infection rapidly progresses from influenza like to haemorrhagic states and also can cause multi organ dysfunction and shock.

The ebola viruses that cause disease in human are endemic in humid rainforests.(linked to hunting).

One of the pathologic hallmark of disease is major immune supression.(targets are monocytes,macrophages and dendritic cells.).

Supresses both innate and cellular immune responses.There occours pronounced secretion of cytokines,and lymphoid depletion in lymphoid organs leading to absence of reactive inflammatory cellular responses.Lymphopenia develops.

Other hallmarks of disease are disturbance in clotting system and disturbance in vascular integrity.Thus leads to thrombocytopenia and microthrombi formation(can cause extensive necroses and infracts in multi organs mainly gonads,kidneys,liver and spleen)

Also activation of endothelial cells of blood vessels can cause interstitial and myocardial edema and hypovolemic shock.These refer to the clinical presentation of the disease.