Ebola Disease

Context: Uganda recently declared the end of the Ebola disease outbreak caused by Sudan ebolavirus.

About Ebola Disease:

• Ebola spreads through EBOV (Ebola virus) which is a virus belonging to the Filoviridae family of viruses.
• It is mainly found in animals.
• Ebola is a virus that causes severe inflammation and tissue damage throughout the body.
• It is known as a haemorrhagic fever virus, because it can cause problems with the clotting system of the body and lead to internal bleeding, as blood leaks from small blood vessels.

• Six different species of the virus have been found, but only four are known to cause disease in humans.
• Ebola is spread through direct contact with body fluids ― blood, saliva, sweat, tears, mucus, vomit, faeces, breast milk, urine and semen of people infected with it.
• It is also spread by touching things that have been contaminated with these fluids.
• The virus is named after the Ebola river (Republic of Congo ) — as a village situated on its bank witnessed the first instance of the viral outbreak in 1976.

Treatment:

• A vaccine for Ebola was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2019.
• It is a one-dose shot that protects against the variant of the Ebola virus that has caused the most serious outbreak so far.
• This vaccine is not likely to be effective against the Ebola Sudan strain that caused a 2022 outbreak in Uganda.

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Questions

Q,1) Consider the following statements in respect of probiotics :

1. Probiotics are made of both bacteria and yeast.
2. The organisms in probiotics are found in foods we ingest but they do not naturally occur in our gut.
3. Probiotics help in the digestion of milk sugars.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (2022)

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3
4. 2 and 3

Q.2) In the context of vaccines manufactured to prevent COVID-19 pandemic, consider the following statements:

1. The Serum Institute of India produced COVID-19 vaccine named Covishield using mRNA platform.
2. Sputnik V vaccine is manufactured using vector based platform.
3. COVAXIN is an inactivated pathogen based vaccine.

Which of the statements given above are correct? (2022)

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3