Yet, over the nearly four decades since the initial outbreak, research has found not all Ebola viruses are alike. There are five different species each of which named for the location of its original outbreak. The virus responsible for the original outbreak in 1976 is the Zaire species. The others are known as Bundibugyo, Sudan, Reston, and Tai Forest (formerly known as Cote d’Ivoire). These five can be further divided into two groups based on their effect on humans. Zaire, Sudan, and Bundibugyo are known to be effective killers while the Tai Forest and Reston have never killed. Normally, the viruses are contained within localized areas. The Zaire strain is most often found to be in Central Africa outbreaks such as those in the former Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon. The Sudan and Bundibugyo strains occur in the Northeast including not surprisingly the Sudan as well as neighboring Uganda. The Tai Forest and Reston strains are found in outbreaks on the western side of Africa including Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia. This geographic distinction suggests therefore that outbreaks in the east and central parts of the continent should come with widespread death while those in the west should cause concern but should not lead to many – or any – mortalities. But this year, something changed. In February, an outbreak of Ebola in the western country of Guinea began. It was their first encounter with the virus yet based on geographic inference – Guinea is located on the west side of Africa – they were not expected to be hit hard. Yet, the opposite happened. As of last week, there were at least 80 infections and 59 deaths. As one health ministry official put it, the situation was overwhelming. Source: Jason Tetro and Popular Science
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 00:32:58 +0000
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