Mwanatambwe M, Yamada N, Arai S, Shimizu-Suganuma M, Shichinohe K, Asano G
Department of Pathology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan.
J Nippon Med Sch. 2001 Oct;68(5):370-5. doi: 10.1272/jnms.68.370.
Hemorrhagic fevers represent a wide spectrum of viral infectious diseases, out-breaking mostly as epidemics, some of them being highly lethal. They range from those caused by bunyaviridae, associated with renal or pulmonary syndromes and those recently emerging and caused by the filoviridae family of thread-like viruses. Among the latter, Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) bears the highest mortality and morbidity rates. One form of the disease has been documented only in monkeys. The human form, has occurred mainly in areas surrounding rain forests in central Africa. Patients present with signs of hemorrhagic diathesis, fever, diarrhea and neurological disorders, leading sometimes to confusion with local endemic diseases. Fatal victims of the disease die of dehydration. Poor hygienic conditions facilitate the spread of the virus. Biologically, the virus seems to target both the host blood coagulative and immune defense systems. Intensive epidemiologic search have failed to establish the definitive natural host of the virus. Twice, with a 19-year interval, major outbreaks have taken place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The second major outbreak in the northwestern city of Kikwit in April 1995 will serve here to elucidate the mechanism of the viral infection.
出血热是一类广泛的病毒性传染病，大多以流行病形式爆发，其中一些具有高度致死性。它们包括由布尼亚病毒科引起的、与肾综合征或肺综合征相关的疾病，以及最近出现的由丝状病毒科的丝状病毒引起的疾病。在后者中，埃博拉出血热（EHF）的死亡率和发病率最高。该疾病的一种形式仅在猴子身上有记录。人类感染形式主要发生在中非雨林周边地区。患者表现出出血素质、发热、腹泻和神经紊乱症状，有时会与当地的地方病混淆。该疾病的致命受害者死于脱水。卫生条件差会助长病毒传播。从生物学角度看，该病毒似乎同时攻击宿主的凝血和免疫防御系统。深入的流行病学调查未能确定该病毒的最终自然宿主。刚果民主共和国曾间隔19年发生过两次重大疫情。1995年4月在西北部城市基奎特发生的第二次重大疫情将在此用于阐明病毒感染的机制。
