One Bio-informatics researcher at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, Derek Gatherer who majored in viral genetics and evolution said: “When a person becomes infected with Ebola, the virus depletes the body’s immune cells, which defend against infection.
“In
particular, the Ebola virus depletes immune cells called CD4 and CD8 T
lymphocytes, which are crucial to the function of the immune system”, Gatherer
noted, arguing that “if a person’s immune system can stand up to this initial
attack — meaning their immune cells are not as depleted in the first stages of
infection — then they are more likely to survive the disease.
“The patients
that survive it best are the ones who don’t get such a bad immune deficiency.
But if the body is not able to fend off this attack, then the immune system
becomes less able to regulate itself”, Gatherer said.
Another indication of a person chance of surviving the deadly curse Ebola is
said to be a gene called the human leukocyte antigen-B, this is responsible for
the creation of protein in the immune system.One study done in 2007 says revealed that this gene named B*07 and B*14, were more likely to survive Ebola, while people with other versions, called B*67 and B*15, were more likely to die.
The study also said that if one has a mutation in a gene called NPC1, they could be resistant to the virus. Studies proved that, when researchers take cells from people with the NPC1 mutation and try to infect them with Ebola in a laboratory dish, these cells are resistant to the virus.
In a recent survey the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the recent Ebola outbreak has claimed the lives of 1,145 globally and is now the worst ever outbreak. The WHO confirmed that in the last two days, 152 new cases of the deadly hemorrhagic fever were reported in the two day period in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, bringing the total number of infected to 2,127.
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