Re: How close are we to finding a cure to Ebola? Where did it start?

We are not particularly close to a cure for Ebola, although we are 
constantly learning more about the virus.  Just recently an important 
advance in understanding was made by researchers at the University of 
Michigan Medical Center: Ebola attacks cells of the immune system.  Viruses 
are notoriously difficult to cure.  The best way (and usually the only) to 
deal with viruses is to prevent infection with vaccines as with Polio, 
Rabies, or Small Pox viruses (but this is prevention, not a cure).  Once 
infected, there are only a few possible outcomes: our immune system can get 
rid of the virus by itself (as with the common cold "get rest and drink 
fluids," sometimes medical aid can help us get through); we learn to live 
with the infection for the rest of our lives (for example, Herpes Simplex 
viruses); or we succumb to the virus (such as Hanta, Marbourg, or Ebola).  
The most progress towards a drug treatment to cure a virus is the HIV 
story, but again, there is no cure at this time for HIV-AIDS.  When 
infected with a virus that normally kills, one strategy to prevent death is 
to treat the acute symptoms to keep the patient alive long enough for the 
patientŐs immune system to clear the virus.  This has been attempted with 
Ebola patients, but without clear success (although anecdotal stories are 
rampant).

The Ebola virus first appeared in 1976 in The Congo, formerly known as 
Zaire.  There are three types of Ebola, each named after the location they 
were discovered:  Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, and Ebola-Reston.  Reston is a 
town in Virginia, outside Washington D.C., but Ebola-Reston seems to not 
infect humans, only monkeys (Ebola-Reston has also been found in Texas).  
One of the biggest issues facing Ebola researchers is the species that 
normally carries Ebola since humans and monkeys do not normally harbor 
Ebola.  There are many "Virus Hunters" pursuing this natural host for Ebola 
since identification will help prevent human infections.

There is an incredible amount of information on the Web on Ebola, some of 
it good but most of it misleading (even to me!) or simply inaccurate.  I 
have listed some sites that I feel are reliable and well written (and a few 
pictures).  Note that when going thru these pages, Ebola is also known as a 
Filovirus, Filoviridae, and as an hemorraghic fever virus.

Pictures:   

http://www.tulane.edu/%7Edmsander/Big_Virology/BVRNAfilo.html 


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:  

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/spb/mnpages/dispages/ebola.htm

 
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/virlfvr/ebolainf.htm

The Ebola outbreak in Texas:


http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/virlfvr/ebola528.htm 


For a non-web based source of information that is good reading too, try 
"The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston.  It tells the story of Ebola in a fun 
way, with a little suspense and graphic depictions of the damage caused by 
hemorraghic fever viruses.  You'll enjoy it!