Disease Outbreak

Disease Outbreak
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Disease Outbreak
Ebola Virus Disease
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) mostly affects humans and non-human pirates. More so, since its discovery in 1976, scientists have never identified the source of Ebola (CDC, 2017). However, some of their primary beliefs indicate that the virus is animal-borne and the most likely source is the bat. The recent outbreak of the virus was the 2014 Ebola epidemic that attracted worldwide attention. As indicated by the report by the World Health Organization (WHO), an 18-month-old boy in a small community in Guinea was the first to be infected. Additionally, retrospective studies by the organization’s researchers indicated that the small village of focus was surrounded by forest whose condition may have attracted wild animals and the bat species (WHO, 2015). Assertively, the report on the origins of the disease aligns with the information provided by the CDC. More specifically, both articles indicate the bat species as the likely source of the Ebola Virus Disease.
Secondly, the CDC is keen to note that the mode of infection among people is mostly direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. Still, the infected person does not have to be alive for the virus to spread (CDC, 2017). In fact, direct contact with people who have died from the virus is enough for a person to become infected since its passes through broken skin or membranes of mucus in the eyes, nose, or mouth.

The narration by WHO on what transpired after the boy died indicated that direct contact with the infected is a primary mode of transmission (WHO, 2015). In fact, the immediate members of his family acquired the disease leading to their death while members of the extended family followed suit soon after. Resolutely, the 2014 Ebola outbreak is comparable to CDC’s case definitions and explications regarding the source of the virus and how it is transmitted.
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2017). Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/about.htmlWorld Health Organization (2015). Origins of the 2014 Ebola Virus. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/one-year-report/virus-origin/en/