Ebola Virus Disease: Some unknown facts associated with it

The recent Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has shaken us all again. As the death toll of this virus keep rising, we share some crucial information about the infection with you.

By: Editorial Team | | Published: July 23, 2019 11:27 am

Tags: Ebola in India Ebola virus disease

Ebola virus disease is a type of viral haemorrhagic fever that affects your circulatory system. © Shutterstock

Discovered in the year 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, “Ebola virus disease is one among emerging viral infections that could pose a threat to public health in India”, says Indian Council of Medical Research.

Ebola virus disease is a type of viral haemorrhagic fever that affects your circulatory system. This fatal illness is caused by a virus known as Ebola. Apart from infected persons, it can be transmitted through wild animals too. This is the reason Ebola is also known as zoonotic virus. This disease is characterised by symptoms like fever, weakness, vomiting, headache, joint and muscle aches, diarrhoea, stomach pain, and lack of appetite. In some cases, you may also experience rashes, sore throat, red eyes, chest pain, or difficulty in swallowing and breathing. To diagnose this condition, you may go through blood and tissue tests to rule out other diseases like malaria and cholera. Also, as this is a highly contagious disease, en Ebola virus patient is treated in isolation to prevent the virus from spreading. But, the researchers are still trying their best to work on it. Presently, doctors only try to manage the symptoms of this disease with the use of blood pressure medication, fluids and electrolytes, blood transfusion, and oxygen supply. Currently, there is no vaccination to protect you against this virus. Here are some important Ebola facts that you need to know about.

Ebola virus can spread through semen

According to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, protein (amyloids) found in human semen can significantly increase the spread of Ebola virus infection. Initially, it was believed that this deadly virus can only be transmitted through direct contact with blood and other body fluids from infected people. However, the new research has noticed that men can harbour the virus in their semen for at least 2.5 years, with the potential to transmit it sexually during that time. Thus, targeting amyloids (these are proteins) in the semen could prevent a sexually transmitted spread of the Ebola virus, suggested the study.

In order to know the ability of amyloids to enhance infection, researchers incubated benign viruses with distinctive Ebola glycoprotein— a marker on the outside of the virus particle —by using concentrations of semen amyloids before infecting a variety of human cell types which are attacked by Ebola virus.

It was found that infection levels of cells with this combination of benign Ebola virus and amyloids were about 20 times higher compared to cells with the virus alone. Also, the team found that amyloids enhanced the binding of the virus to cells and increased its ability to be internalised by host cells.

Currently, researchers are also trying to find out the effects of amyloids on Ebola in models of vaginal infection.

Ebola virus can affect your reproductive organs

The Ebola virus has the potential to infect reproductive organs of humans, reveals a study conducted on macaques. The study, published in The American Journal of Pathology, indicated that the Ebola virus can persist in the reproductive organs of both men and women survivors. It was found that the virus may reach the reproductive organs with minimal tissue immune response or signs of disease. For the study, the team infected four female and eight male macaques with the Makona variant of Ebola virus — the variant responsible for the West Africa Ebola outbreak between 2014-2016. The results demonstrated widespread Ebola virus infection of the interstitial tissues and endothelium in the ovary, uterus, testis, seminal vesicle, epididymis and prostate gland, in both male and female macaques. Additional research is needed to learn how Ebola virus persists in these sites, to determine if drugs and vaccines can cure or prevent such infections, and to understand the mechanisms of sexual transmission

There is a testing device that can detect Ebola in less than 30 minutes

A team of researchers have designed a new quicker device to detect the Ebola virus quickly. Currently, as part of the diagnostic process, doctors take the blood sample of the infected person and send it to the lab for testing. This process is extremely time consuming and therefore gives the virus a chance to spread more. However, the new test device detects the virus in your blood in less than 30 minutes and requires only a small blood sample. It uses surface-enhanced Raman scattering technology to work. The device bounces the light off the molecules present in the blood sample and the results are then compared with the embedded barcodes which represent disease signatures. After the testing process, the result produced can be understood by virtually anybody who can read.

Scientists are coming up with new treatments

A study published in the journal Molecular Cell, scientists are trying to bring an effective drug for the treatment of people infected with Ebola virus. They have found an enzyme (PP2A-B56) that could help prevent the deadly virus from spreading. This enzyme can rob away the Ebola virus off its capacity to copy itself and produce more virus particles and infections. Actually, this is the enzyme where Ebola virus produces proteins to copy itself. So, inhibiting it can help to potentially stop the virus from copying itself.

Researchers have also discovered a human protein that helps in fighting the Ebola virus. A study published in the journal Cell, used mass spectrometry technique (analytical technique used to quantify known materials), to search for interactions between human proteins and Ebola virus proteins. They found strong evidence of an interaction between the Ebola virus protein VP30 and the human protein RBBP6. According to the study team, putting peptide into human cells can block Ebola virus infection. Interestingly, removing the RBBP6 protein from human cells helps Ebola virus replicate much faster.

(With inputs from IANS)

Published: July 23, 2019 11:27 am

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