Ebola Virus Disease

Ebola is an acute filoviral hemorrhagic fever transmitted mainly by patient blood/excreta. Clinical: acute fever, myalgia, bleeding, rash, hepatic/renal damage.

Common Symptoms

Fever with bleeding; somnolence; diarrhea; delirium; myalgia; tinnitus; abdominal pain; fatigue; nausea

Causes and Pathogenesis

Filovirus: filamentous 70-90 nm × up to 1400 nm, branched; 40 nm helical nucleocapsid; -ssRNA ~19 kb encoding NP/VP30/VP40/VP24/VP35/GP/RNA pol (7 proteins). GP gene unique. Replicates in cytoplasm, buds from plasma membrane. Lipoprotein envelope with 10 nm GP spikes. Grows in Vero-E6 with CPE. Four subtypes: Zaire (EBO-Z, most virulent), Sudan (EBO-S), Côte d'Ivoire (EBO-C), Reston (EBO-R, non-pathogenic to humans, lethal to NHPs). Pantropic; liver/spleen worst. IL-2/IL-10/TNF-α/IFN-γ/IFN-α elevated. Mononuclear phagocytes first targeted, then fibroblasts/endothelium; vascular permeability/fibrin deposition. Virus detected in lung day 2, liver/spleen day 4, all tissues day 6. Pathology: reticuloendothelial involvement, thrombosis/bleeding, widespread necrosis (liver/spleen/kidney/lymphatics).

Treatment

Drug therapy, supportive therapy

Preventive Measures

Whether protective neutralizing antibodies develop is debated. Isolate patients; thoroughly disinfect excreta/items; barrier nursing. Concern about more virulent variants and aerosol spread. Hyperimmune sera from sheep/goats protect animals; future human immunotherapy expected.

Department to Visit

It is recommended to visit the Infectious Diseases department; an appointment can be booked on this platform before the visit.

Warm reminder: The above information is for health science reference only and cannot replace professional medical diagnosis. If you have related symptoms, please seek medical attention at a regular hospital promptly.