The Ebola virus is a particularly devastating disease. Even those who survive must still yet recover from the havoc the disease wrought upon their internal systems. One can only hope that, by working together, we can finally find a cure and stop this catastrophe from occuring again. With drugs such as ZMapp showing real promise, this dream may soon become a reality.

What exactly does the ebola virus do to the body, which makes it so deadly?

How Does the Ebola Virus Affect the Body?

There are currently five known subtypes of Ebola. The first strain to be identified is known as the Zaire strain and is widely considered the deadliest form of the virus. In the current outbreak in West Africa, preliminary testing by the WHO have suggested that this is the strain responsible and may explain the record breaking number of deaths the virus has claimed thus far.

Ebola Virus Disease Symptoms

The Ebola virus is a severe acute viral illness and as such, individuals may begin to exhibit early symptoms such as the sudden onset of fever, general weakness, muscle pain, chills, headaches and sore throat.

As the disease progresses, the symptoms worsen and include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, bloody stool, bloodshot eyes, rash, chest pain and coughing, stomach pain, severe and rapid weight loss, bruising, bleeding from various orifices (most commonly the eyes), internal bleeding and impaired kidney and liver function.

Ebola Effects on Human Body

The Ebola virus is a systemic infection. What this means is that every organ and tissue, except the bones and skeletal muscles, are under constant attack. The Ebola HF is marked by blood clotting and hemorrhaging. We have still not completely figured out exactly how the virus works. One theory is that the virus particles may release proteins which weaken the body’s immune system response thus rendering it unable to defend itself.

• ŸWe believe that Ebola’s first offensive maneuver is the targeting of certain types of immune cells which would normally be our body’s first line of defense against illness. The virus attacks and infects the body’s dendritic cells which are responsible for the activation of T cells (the white blood cells we use to fight infection) which would normally kill off the infected cells before they could spread. With the dendritic cells compromised, the T cells are not activated and the virus begins to multiply in a very rapid fashion. Ebola also, similarly too many other viruses, inhibits interferon which is a molecule that cells make use of to further retard viral reproduction.
• ŸAfter that it is somewhat a guessing game to the exact process, but what we do know is that virus attacks the connective tissue and reproduces at an extremely fast rate in the collagen (collagen is what keeps our organs where they belong), effectively digesting the tissue as it does this.
• ŸAnother major factor in the Ebola virus’s system wide attack on the body is its ability to form blood clots. Forming small clots early on, the virus causes the patient’s blood to slowly thicken, resulting in a decreased blood flow. As the clots begin to get stuck in the blood vessels, the patient begins to exhibit external signs in the form of red spots on the skin. As the disease progresses, these clots and their tell-tale spots increase in size. Another more serious effect of the Ebola virus’s clotting factor is the decreased blood supply to the vital areas of the body such as the liver, brain, kidneys, lungs, intestines, testicles and extremities.
• Entering the final stages of the disease’s progression, the patient may begin to exhibit spontaneous bleeding from their eyes, ears, nose as well as tears in the skin which can appear suddenly. Death generally occurs due to a catastrophic drop in blood pressure resulting from the damage done to the blood vessels and massive blood loss. Death may also occur due to multi-organ failure and/or shock.