Examining Ebola

What am I looking at?

This is a colored electron microscopy image of Ebola viruses infecting a Vero E6 cell – a cell line isolated from the kidney of a certain kind of monkey. In the main image, the virus particles are green (1), and the cell the particles are infecting is blue (2). Click on the right arrow to see other views of these virus particles – shown sequentially in yellow, aqua, blue, red, and red; the second image shows a single virus particle colored yellow.

Biology in the background

The Ebola virus infects humans and other primates and causes hemorrhagic fever – profuse bleeding – in those infected. The virus infects nearly every part of the body, causing internal bleeding and release of other bodily fluids. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals. The infection is extremely deadly, with from 25% to as many as 90% of infected individuals dying within 6 to 16 days of showing symptoms. The fatality rate in any given situation depends on factors such as the timing and effectiveness of treatment; the initial health of the affected individual; and their ability to stay hydrated during the infection, since most deaths occur due to shock from dehydration or blood loss.

An Ebola virus particle can be up to 14 micrometers long, or roughly five times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Technique

These images were created using scanning electron microscopy.