Dimalen, Bai Maddeha

BSMLS- 2K
August 22, 2019
The Unseen Killer

People are like computers. We get contaminated by viruses. Computers slow down, crash
applications and in worst cases, it will not function anymore. This may happen to us once we get
these deadly viruses. We may get weak and die like what we have watched from a documentary
entitled, “Spillover”. From this video there were several viruses that were mentioned. Some
viruses like HIV, AH1N1, MERS and the SARS was mentioned but what this video focused on is
about Ebola, Zika, and/or the Nipah viruses. The Zika virus used to be a mild disease but due to
the fast spreading, it has become a pandemic virus. This virus started in Brazil. It spread
through bites of mosquitos, spefically, the Aedis Aegypti. According to the video, this was the
“Cockroach of Mosquitos” and are common to places in the tropics. This can be passed from
one person to another through sexual transmission. This virus was first identified in 1987.
Infants affected by this virus are described to have triangular face without foreheads as their
cranial bones are mostly empty spaces. The second virus is known as the Ebola Virus. The
Ebola virus spread through Africa. The name Ebola originated from the river near the village
where it started. From the video, one man named Alhassan was interviewed. He had survived
this deadly disease. With this I knew that people can have a chance of survival as long as they
have strong immune system. The Ebola virus can spread from one person to another through
close physical contact especially with fluids like, vomits or blood. The Ebola Virus’ reservoir are
bats. They were learned to have antibodies in them. Like the third virus which is the Nipah
Virus, the Virus spread because the bats urinated and drink from the Deep Palm Sap which are
shredded into food and ingested by humans. This has spread in Bangladesh most commonly
between months of December to March. Nipah Virus is a zoonotic which means they are
transmitted from animals to humans. Ebola virus can make a person weak. It destroys organs
inside the body especially the liver and blood vessels. Once it is inside the body, it can trick the
cell to make copies of the Ebola Geno then it becomes a virus. I have also learned that Ebola
exists in 5 Species: Reston, Sudan, Zaire, Tai Forest, and Bundibugyo. Zaire is the deadliest.
Zoonotics became a burden to people because the foods that humans eat for survival are
contaminated. They are deprived to be with their loved ones because an infected person needs
to be isolated. One girl named Miriam was deprived of education because due to the disease,
she cannot memorize what you teach her. Epidemiologists are the ones who are responsible for
the investigation of diseases in a community or place. They are the ones who will examine the
environment to trace which causes the disease for them to be able to treat people and stop or
prevent the spreading. One strategy they did to these affected communities are the presence of
contact tracers. They are the ones who trace people who ere last contacted by the infected
patient. Contact tracers interview the people in order to stop the chain. Some ways humans can
reduce risks of acquiring these diseases are proper hygiene, cleaning of the environment,
removal of stagnant water, eating healthy foods, and proper food preparation. Humans may also
need to consider to be really careful of whom they are contacting with.

Nelsen, E. (2014, May 27). Sweet and Deadly: Bat-Borne Virus Brews in Bangladesh’s Date
Palm Pots. Retrived from https://ww2.kqed.org/quest/2014/05/27/sweet-and-deadly-bat-borne-
virus-brews-in-bangladeshs-date-palm-pots/.