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Doctors Puzzled Why Only Some Ebola Patients Bleed
By Laura Geggel, Staff Writer | October 07, 2014 03:22pm ET
One of Ebola's most notorious symptoms is bleeding from places like the nose and mouth, but such bleeding has only occurred in a minority of cases in the current outbreak.
It remains a mystery why some people experience this bleeding while others don't. The bleeding, which is properly called "hemorrhagic syndrome," happens in the late stages of the disease, about 24 to 48 hours before death.
In the current West Africa outbreak, about 18 percent of people infected with the virus are developing hemorrhagic syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Typically, the Ebola virus leads to hemorrhagic syndrome about 30 percent to 50 percent of the time, said Angela Rasmussen, a research assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Washington. [Ebola Virus: 5 Things You Should Know]
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In fact, the relatively low prevalence of hemorrhagic syndrome in the current outbreak may explain why the outbreak remained under the radar for a time before it was recognized.
"I have heard speculation that a lower incidence of hemorrhagic syndrome may explain why the outbreak may not have been recognized early on as [being caused by] Ebola," Rasmussen said, "since it was geographically outside of what we previously thought was the range for Zaire Ebola virus, and since without hemorrhage, it appears similar to malaria or typhoid."
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Mouse genetics may help researchers learn why some people develop hemorrhagic syndrome and others don't. Rasmussen and her colleagues are examining whether any genetic factors predispose an individual to developing the bleeding, she said.
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http://www.livescience.com/48182-why-ebola-causes-bleeding.html
By Laura Geggel, Staff Writer | October 07, 2014 03:22pm ET
One of Ebola's most notorious symptoms is bleeding from places like the nose and mouth, but such bleeding has only occurred in a minority of cases in the current outbreak.
It remains a mystery why some people experience this bleeding while others don't. The bleeding, which is properly called "hemorrhagic syndrome," happens in the late stages of the disease, about 24 to 48 hours before death.
In the current West Africa outbreak, about 18 percent of people infected with the virus are developing hemorrhagic syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Typically, the Ebola virus leads to hemorrhagic syndrome about 30 percent to 50 percent of the time, said Angela Rasmussen, a research assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Washington. [Ebola Virus: 5 Things You Should Know]
...
In fact, the relatively low prevalence of hemorrhagic syndrome in the current outbreak may explain why the outbreak remained under the radar for a time before it was recognized.
"I have heard speculation that a lower incidence of hemorrhagic syndrome may explain why the outbreak may not have been recognized early on as [being caused by] Ebola," Rasmussen said, "since it was geographically outside of what we previously thought was the range for Zaire Ebola virus, and since without hemorrhage, it appears similar to malaria or typhoid."
...
Mouse genetics may help researchers learn why some people develop hemorrhagic syndrome and others don't. Rasmussen and her colleagues are examining whether any genetic factors predispose an individual to developing the bleeding, she said.
...
http://www.livescience.com/48182-why-ebola-causes-bleeding.html