What is Ebola?

What is Ebola?
By Dr Tomislav Metrovi, MD
Ebola, also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever or Ebola viral disease, is a rare and deadly illness caused by one of
the strains of Ebola virus. This viral agent is regarded as a prototype pathogen of viral hemorrhagic fever, with high
fatality rates in humans and primates. The natural reservoir of Ebola virus remains unknown, although bats seem to
be the most likely reservoir.

Ebola virus virion. Created by CDC microbiologist Cynthia Goldsmith, this colorized transmission electron micrograph
(TEM) revealed some of the ultrastructural morphology displayed by an Ebola virus virion.
Infections with Ebola virus are characterized by immune suppression and a severe inflammatory response that
damages vascular, coagulation and immune systems, subsequently resulting in bleeding, multiorgan failure and
shock. Human-to-human transmission can lead to outbreaks, which are often initiated by a single introduction from
the reservoir in nature or another end host.
Despite important scientific achievements on the biology and pathogenesis of Ebola virus during the past two
decades, exact virulence factors and host responses are yet to be determined. Those unanswered questions have
hampered the development of proper treatment methods and vaccines, which is a reason why there are currently no
licensed prophylaxis or treatment measures for this infection.
Characteristics of the virus
Ebola virus belongs to the order Mononegavirales and the family Filoviridae, which is a taxonomic group of nonsegmented, enveloped and negative-strand RNA viruses. Particles of these viruses have a characteristic filamentous
appearance that gives the virus family its name. Their diameter is uniform at 80 nm, but particle length can be quite
variable and up to 14 000 nm.
The genome of the virus consists of seven genes that code for nucleoprotein, glycoprotein, virion protein (VP) 24,
VP30, VP35, VP40 and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. With the exception of the glycoprotein gene, all
aforementioned genes are monocistronic, which means that they encode for only one structural protein.
Production of a soluble glycoprotein (i.e. protein that contains covalently attached sugar residues) is an important
distinction of Ebola virus from other viruses in the order. This major pathogenicity factor gets secreted from infected
cells in large quantities, facilitating further viral entry by binding to the receptor present on the host cells.
According to the newest taxonomy of The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), in the genus
Ebolavirus there are five recognized species: Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, Ta Forest ebolavirus (formerly
Cte dIvoire ebolavirus), Bundibugyo ebolavirus and Reston ebolavirus. Reston ebolavirus is the only species
apathogenic for humans.

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What is Ebola?

2014 Outbreak in West Africa

On March 21 2014, the Guinea Ministry of Health announced the outbreak of a disease manifesting with fever,
vomiting, severe diarrhea and a high case-fatality rate of 59%. Specimens taken from sick individuals and tested at
the Institute Pasteur in Lyon (France) were positive for an Ebola virus by polymerase chain reaction. Further viral
sequencing revealed that the causative agent is a Zaire ebolavirus species, one of five viruses in the genus.

In order to implement prevention and control measures in affected countries, the governments collaborated with the
World Health Organization, Mdecins Sans Frontires and other organizations. Ebola treatment centers were
established to provide better patient care and impede further virus transmission. Teams from Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention played a significant role in characterizing and controlling the epidemic.
The 2014 outbreak in West Africa is definitely the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the discovery of
the virus in 1976. There have been more cases and deaths in this outbreak than all others combined. In September
2014 there were a total of 5347 confirmed Ebola cases, 3095 laboratory confirmed cases and 2630 deaths, and the
outbreak was still ongoing.
Sources
1. www.thelancet.com/.../fulltext
2. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6325a4.htm
3. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1405314
4. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/
5. www.ecdc.europa.eu/.../index.aspx
6. Sanchez A, Geisbert TW, Feldmann H. Filoviridae: Marburg and Ebola viruses. In: Knipe DM, Howley PM,
editors. Fields virology. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2006. pp. 14091448.
Further Reading
Ebola Virus History
Ebola Virus Epidemiology
Ebola Virus Symptoms
Ebola Virus Diagnosis and Treatment
Ebola Virus Prevention
Ebola Research

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What is Ebola?

Last Updated: Sep 24, 2014

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