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Divernan

(15,480 posts)
2. Survival rates vary among the different strains of Ebola.
Mon Jul 28, 2014, 08:41 AM
Jul 2014

I haven't been able to find any reference to which strain is involved in the current outbreak, but here's some facts for background:

Strains of Ebola

The virus takes its name from the Ebola River in the northern Congo basin of central Africa, where it first emerged in 1976. Ebola is closely related to the Marburg virus, which was discovered in 1967, and the two are the only members of the Filoviridae that cause epidemic human disease. Five strains of Ebola virus, known as Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Côte d’Ivoire, Ebola-Reston, and Ebola-Bundibugyo, named for their outbreak locations, have been described.

Ebola-Zaire causes death in 80 to 90 percent of cases, and Ebola-Sudan causes death in 50 percent of cases. Ebola-Côte d’Ivoire, found in dead chimpanzees in the Taï National Park in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire, can infect humans, although only two human cases have been documented, and both individuals survived. Ebola-Reston, which was originally discovered in laboratory monkeys in Reston, Virginia, in 1989, was also detected in laboratory monkeys in other locations in the United States in 1990 and 1996, as well as in Siena, Italy, in 1992. All the monkeys infected with Ebola-Reston have been traced to one export facility located in the Philippines, although the origin of the strain has not been identified. Similar to Ebola-Côte d’Ivoire, Ebola-Reston does not appear to cause death in humans. The fifth strain, Ebola-Bundibugyo, was discovered in November 2007 in an outbreak in Bundibugyo district, near the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; it causes death in about 25 percent of cases.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/177623/Ebola
The WHO and CDC... ReRe Jul 2014 #1
One problelm: locals associate hospitals with dying, so don't take people there. Divernan Jul 2014 #3
Thanks so much for this info! ReRe Jul 2014 #14
Given the precautions Drs. take, I'm concerned it may have gone airborne. Divernan Jul 2014 #16
Airborne... ReRe Jul 2014 #18
I just edited my post to add info re a lot more medical personnel being treated/died Divernan Jul 2014 #19
Oh yes... ReRe Jul 2014 #21
Over 100 medical care providers!?!? Divernan Jul 2014 #23
In that you have to understand that the staff and facilities are not what we are used to here Marrah_G Jul 2014 #29
Will have to try to go listen to... ReRe Jul 2014 #31
100 medical workers of all types, including volunteers. herding cats Jul 2014 #38
They often have crappy equipment and mistakes do happen Marrah_G Jul 2014 #24
I certainly hope you are correct. Divernan Jul 2014 #25
I am in total agreement with that :) Marrah_G Jul 2014 #27
What about the possibility of a new vector, i.e, mosquito? Divernan Jul 2014 #20
That question is way... ReRe Jul 2014 #22
I don't think there is a new vector or that it's airborne Marrah_G Jul 2014 #26
I just found the answer to the... ReRe Jul 2014 #30
I think if Ebola was carried by mosquitoes, hedgehog Jul 2014 #44
Ebola is a virus, and as such hard to adapt to mutiple creatures, as needed with a vector. happyslug Jul 2014 #42
Thank you! ReRe Jul 2014 #46
WHO, CDC and MSF have been working hard at containing this. Marrah_G Jul 2014 #11
I know they have. ReRe Jul 2014 #15
The difficulty in containing it Aerows Jul 2014 #50
Worse problem Aerows Jul 2014 #49
I read a new report... ReRe Jul 2014 #53
Ugly. Aerows Jul 2014 #54
They're quarantining only the sick Warpy Jul 2014 #55
Survival rates vary among the different strains of Ebola. Divernan Jul 2014 #2
I know that there is no vaccine, but do you tblue37 Jul 2014 #5
Excellent questions which need to be thoroughly researched. Divernan Jul 2014 #7
Don't expect Big Pharma to get involved, no profits to be made here Hugabear Jul 2014 #17
Roll Back Malaria program (RBM) pinto Jul 2014 #32
Very interesting and encouraging program Divernan Jul 2014 #34
There are experimental vaccines. herding cats Jul 2014 #40
They *think* this falls within the Zaire Ebola eShirl Jul 2014 #6
In other words, similar but not identical? Divernan Jul 2014 #8
not "similar," but a subset of eShirl Jul 2014 #9
Each strain has variations Marrah_G Jul 2014 #13
And contracting one strain Aerows Jul 2014 #52
It's the Ebola Zaire strain Marrah_G Jul 2014 #12
The CDC on the strain herding cats Jul 2014 #39
Big fear is if Ebola mutates from bodily contact to airborne infection. Divernan Jul 2014 #4
How likely is that to happen? Hugabear Jul 2014 #43
For ebola, possible but not likely; HIV is a different story. Divernan Jul 2014 #45
Monclonal antibodies taken from survivors could provide vaccinations for strain variants. DhhD Jul 2014 #10
I highly suggest the book Spillover Marrah_G Jul 2014 #28
Thanks for that title... ReRe Jul 2014 #33
Not weird! It is one of my interests also! :) nt Mojorabbit Jul 2014 #47
Relatively long incubation and ease of airtravel make this very scary. McCamy Taylor Jul 2014 #35
on the bright side, eShirl Jul 2014 #36
The part I found most alarming Aerows Jul 2014 #51
Serious stuff. An average of 20 new *reported* cases per day between 6/24 and 7/23. Zorra Jul 2014 #37
As if Ebola, MERS, SARS and Biological Hazards of Unkown Origins...... DeSwiss Jul 2014 #41
Horrible news! Aerows Jul 2014 #48
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