Detection, Treatment and Prevention of Ebola

Detection of Ebola can be a little tricky. The early symptoms are often confused with other diseases, and by the time the illness is identified as Ebola, it can be too late to do anything. The most accurate tests for Ebola are those that use specialized equipment that is hard to take into the remote locations where the virus is most prevalent. These tests, like the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay) test, generally look for antibodies for the Ebola virus instead of looking directly for the virus itself.

Aside from difficulties in bringing the test equipment into remote African villages, these tests are problematic in that a key feature of filoviruses is that they suppress immune systems. So even if someone is infected with Ebola, the virus may have suppressed the immune system enough that they were not able to develop any antibodies against it. Another powerful test known as PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, identifies the virus directly, which is a plus. However, not only is it hard to take into the field, it's also very sensitive to contamination, and the middle of an outbreak doesn't tend to be the most contaminant-free location.

At this point, though, even if a patient is identified to be infected with Ebola, there really isn't much that can be done. No licensed vaccines are available yet, but 2 potential vaccines are undergoing human safety testing. A range of potential treatments including blood products, immune therapies and drug therapies are currently being evaluated. Supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improves survival. Some treatment options are available to stop the replication of the virus, but these don't work very well and can generally not be administered quickly enough to be impactful. The best we can do once we know that an Ebola virus is on the loose in a region is to educate health care workers and members of the community in the outbreak on how best to reduce transmission.

Упражнение 1

Переведите на русский:

Orifices of the body; muscle and joint aches; fever; chill; outbreak; diagnose; to take a turn for the worse; bloody diarrhea; jaundice; rash on trunk; to hemorrhage; blood starts to clot; to exhaust the supply of proteins; tissue damage; uncontrolled bleeding; gastrointestinal tract; death occurs; the onset of symptoms; multi-organ failure.

Упражнение 2

Переведите на английский:

Поддерживающая терапия; симптоматическое лечение; пероральная или внутривенная регидратация; повышает выживаемость; ИФА или иммуноферментный анализ; подавлять иммунную систему; вырабатывать антитела к вирусу; ПЦР или полимеразная цепная реакция; чувствителен к загрязнению; репликация/размножение вируса; уменьшить передачу инфекции; назначать вакцину; медикаментозная терапия.

Упражнение 3

Переведите на английский:

Лихорадка Марбурга. Симптомы и течение

Инкубационный период (интервал между инфицированием и появлением симптомов) варьируется в пределах от 2 до 21 дня.

Болезнь, вызываемая марбургским вирусом, начинается внезапно с появления высокой температуры, сильной головной боли и тяжелого недомогания. Характерным признаком являются мышечные боли. На третий день появляются тяжелая водянистая диарея, боли и колики в области живота, тошнота и рвота. Во время вспышки болезни в Европе в 1967 году через 2-7 дней после появления симптомов болезни у многих пациентов наблюдалась не вызывающая зуд сыпь.

На 5-7 день заболевания у многих пациентов наблюдаются тяжелые геморрагические проявления, а в смертельных случаях обычно происходят какие-либо кровотечения, часто множественные. Во время тяжелой стадии болезни у пациентов может держаться высокая температура. Поражение центральной нервной системы может проявляться в спутанности сознания, раздражительности и агрессивности.

В смертельных случаях заболевания смерть чаще всего наступает через 8-9 дней после появления симптомов, и ей обычно предшествуют тяжелая кровопотеря и шоковое состояние.

 

FBI Trace Evidence and DNA Analysis

 

Trace evidence might include gun-shot residue (GSR), paint residue, chemicals, glass and illicit drugs. To collect trace evidence, a CSI might use tweezers, plastic containers with lids, a filtered vacuum device and a knife. He will also have a biohazard kit on hand containing disposable latex gloves, booties, face mask and gown and a biohazard waste bag.

Body fluids

Body fluids found at a crime scene might include blood, semen, saliva, and vomit. To identify and collect these pieces of evidence, a CSI might use smear slides, a scalpel, tweezers, scissors, sterile cloth squares, a UV light, protective eyewear and luminol.

If the victim is dead and there is blood on the body, the CSI collects a blood sample either by submitting a piece of clothing or by using a sterile cloth square and a small amount of distilled water to remove some blood from the body. If the blood is on something that can't reasonably go to the lab, like a wall or a bathtub, the CSI can collect it by scraping it into a sterile container using a scalpel. The CSI may also use luminol and a portable UV light to reveal blood that has been washed off a surface.

If there is blood at the scene, there may also be blood spatter patterns. These patterns can reveal the type of weapon that was used -- for instance, a "cast-off pattern" is left when something like a baseball bat contacts a blood source and then swings back. The droplets are large and often tear-drop shaped. This type of pattern can indicate multiple blows from a blunt object, because the first blow typically does not contact any blood. A "high-energy pattern," on the other hand, is made up of many tiny droplets and may indicate a gun shot. Analyzing a blood pattern involves studying the size and shape of the stain, the shape and size of the blood droplets and the concentration of the droplets within the pattern.

Hair and Fiber Collection

Clothing and other materials are carefully packaged in sealed paper bags and sent to a lab. For extraction, the evidence is taken into a processing room, which provides a clean, sealed environment that is temperature- and humidity-controlled. Hair and fibers are removed through a combination of scraping, picking, vacuum sweeping, combing or clipping. Then, they are placed on glass microscopic slides for identification and comparison.

Experts look at a variety of different physical characteristics of hair, including the shaft diameter, pigment granules and cross-sectional shape. They also examine a hair’s cuticle, the translucent outer layer of the hair shaft consisting of scales, and the medulla, a central core of cells present in some hair types.

 

DNA Analysis

A small segment of the DNA chain can be isolated and printed on photographic paper. This “print out” of a person’s genetic code can then be used as evidence to connect a suspect to a crime, or maybe to prove his or her innocence.

DNA is found in body fluids. If liquid blood is being collected, a portion of it will be absorbed onto a clean cotton cloth or swab. A portion of the swab or cloth also will be left unstained to use as a control. After the blood has air-dried it is packed in a clean paper envelope with sealed corners. The exact same process is used to collect dried body fluids, only the cloth or swab is first moistened with distilled water. DNA evidence might also be obtained from other sources such as cigarette butts, chewing gum and envelopes and stamps that have been licked.

Fingerprints

Tools for recovering fingerprints include brushes, powders, tape, chemicals, lift cards, a magnifying glass and Super Glue. A crime lab can use fingerprints to identify the victim or identify or rule out a suspect. There are several types of prints a CSI might find at a crime scene:

Visible: Left by the transfer of blood, paint or another fluid or powder onto a surface that is smooth enough to hold the print; evident to the naked eye.

Molded: Left in a soft medium like soap, putty or candle wax, forming an impression.

Latent: Left by the transfer of sweat and natural oils from the fingers onto a surface that is smooth enough to hold the print; not visible to the naked eye.