Bioquímica y Medicina

Virus de importancia Sanitaria:

Ebola virus

Ebola virus, named after the Ebola river in the Congo where the virus was first found, causes highly lethal haemorrhagic fever. The lack of a cure drives fatality rates up to 90%. Outbreaks often occur in remote villages near rainforests, so the disease typically does not spread far. The virus has been mainly restricted to Africa, although a few laboratory incidents (the latest in 2004 in Russia) have led to deaths outside the continent.

Marburg virus

Clinically indistinguishable from Ebola (both are filoviruses), the Marburg virus causes abrupt illness with severe haemorrhagic manifestations within a week of the onset of symptoms. Fatality rates have ranged from 24% to 88%. The disease was first described in 1967 in the German city Marburg, when several laboratory workers were admitted to hospital with a severe and mysterious disease after working with a species of African green monkey for polio vaccine research.

Lassa virus

Lassa fever is responsible for around 5000 deaths annually. The extremely virulent illness is endemic in West Africa—it is one of the most prevalent haemorrhagic fevers in that region. The fatality rate is typically estimated at 15-20%, but some studies suggest a mortality of up to 50%. The virus infects almost every tissue in the human body and can be contracted through exposure to rodents.

Henipaviruses

The genus Henipavirus includes three members: Hendra virus (HeV), Nipah virus (NiV), and Cedar virus (CedPV). The latter was identified in mid-2012, and, with no recorded human cases, is thought to be harmless. Hendra virus and Nipah virus, however, are highly virulent zoonotic pathogens with a mortality rate between 50-100%. Harboured by fruit bats, the viruses are not considered highly contagious. They were first discovered in the 1990s when several deadly outbreaks occurred in Australia and Malaysia.

Lyssaviruses

This genus contains the rabies virus (nearly 100% fatality rate) and closely related viruses including Duvenhage virus, Mokola virus, and Australian bat lyssavirus. Although rare—only a small number of cases have been confirmed and documented—these infections are nearly always fatal. Bats are known to be animal vectors for all types except Mokola virus (which has been isolated mainly in small mammals).