Daily News Analysis ‘Ebola Virus and Global Public Health Architecture ’ : 22 May

Why in News:

• The worsening Ebola public health emergency in parts of Africa has led to the diplomatic postponement of the Fourth India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) in New Delhi.

Ebola Virus Facts:

• Pathogen & Genus: Caused by viruses belonging to the Orthoebolavirus genus within the Filoviridae family (commonly known as filoviruses).
• Viral Structure: It is a single-stranded, negative-sense, enveloped Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) virus characterized by its distinct filament-like, elongated shape under electron microscopy.
• Identified Strains: Six distinct species are known, with three primary strains responsible for major deadly human outbreaks: Zaire ebolavirus, Sudan ebolavirus, and Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
• Natural Reservoir Host: Pteropodidae family fruit bats are recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the natural, asymptomatic wildlife reservoirs of the virus.
• Zoonotic Spillover: Enters human communities via close contact with the blood, secretions, or organs of infected rainforest wildlife (such as bats, chimpanzees, gorillas, and porcupines) hunted for bushmeat.
• Human-to-Human Transmission: Spreads strictly through direct contact (via broken skin or mucous membranes) with infected bodily fluids (blood, saliva, vomit, feces, sweat, or semen) and contaminated surfaces. It is not an airborne respiratory pathogen.
• Pathophysiology & Symptoms: Targets endothelial cells lining blood vessels and immune cells, inducing sudden high fever, profound fatigue, and severe liver/kidney impairment. This triggers systemic vascular leakage and coagulation failure, causing characteristic internal and external bleeding.
• Incubation & Infectivity: The incubation period ranges from 2 to 21 days; an infected individual is completely incapable of transmitting the virus until visible symptoms actively manifest.
• Viral Persistence: The pathogen can persist long after clinical recovery in immunologically privileged bodily sites where the immune system cannot easily reach, specifically the testicles (transmitted via semen), eyes, and central nervous system.
• Medical Countermeasures: Approved treatments for the Zaire strain include highly targeted monoclonal antibodies like Ebanga (ansuvimab) and Inmazeb (REGN-EB3), along with intensive intravenous rehydration.
• Vaccine Infrastructure: Two major regulatory approvals exist for Zaire ebolavirus prevention: Ervebo (a single-dose live vaccine used in ring-vaccination outbreak responses) and the two-dose Zabdeno-Mvabea regimen. These do not cross-protect against the Sudan or Bundibugyo strains.