epideMic// This is one virus that caused massive panic. The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in West Africa. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst since the virus was first discovered four decades ago, has killed more than 5444, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Two imported cases, including one death, and two locally acquired cases in healthcare workers have been reported in the United States.

Scientists have found how the deadly Ebola virus blocks and disables the body’s natural immune response, a discovery that may guide the development of potential cures or vaccines. Dr Gaya Amarasinghe and colleagues from Washington University School of Medicine along with collaborators from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas found how the Ebola protein VP24 disrupts the cell's innate immune response, a crucial early step on the virus's path to causing deadly disease. According to the researchers, VP24 works by preventing the transcription factor STAT1, which carries interferon's antiviral message, from entering the nucleus and initiating an immune response. There is currently no available cure or vaccine for Ebola, which the WHO has declared a global public health emergency. The virus may be acquired upon contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected person. Symptoms include fever, sore throat, muscle pain, and headaches. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea follow, along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys.