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Running head: MICROBIOLOGY MODULE 1 Microbiology Module I July 14, 2009 Microbiology Module I Microbiology Module 1 Part A Dear Editor, Few days ago I have read the article published in a local newspaper claiming that Edward Jenner was the greatest microbiologist of all time and made the greatest contribution to public health. Although I do honor Edward Jenner and do consider him to be one of the greatest microbiologists of the century, the importance of other microbiologists and their contribution to science cannot be underestimated, as several others performed much greater and significant discoveries in the field microbiology. In my letter to you Id like to provide more information about the early microbiologists and their contributions to this field of study that is probably responsible for saving more lives and misery among the species on this planet Earth than any other field of study. Despite the great number of famous names in the history of microbiology, two scientists, whose discoveries in microbiology with no doubts are more significant than that of Edward Jenner, namely, famous Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, famous for isolating Tuberculosis bacillus. Louis Pasteur, along with Robert Koch, is often considered the father and founder of microbiology and modern medicine.
Without his outstanding discoveries and works in microbiology we would hardly have the near-to-perfect world we have today (Tiger, 1990). During his life Louis Pasteur identified the real causes of various diseases that were responsible for great infant and child mortality figures of the past centuries and his name is directly associated with the era of vaccination and eradication of many serious diseases. Unlike Edward Jenner, whose contributions to microbiology mostly comprise of inventing the smallpox vaccine and who is often called the 'Father of Immunology', Louis Pasteur has made important discoveries and significantly reduced mortality from puerperal fever, created the first vaccine for rabies, invented the process of Pasteurization, is known for famous Germ theory, and many other important works and discoveries (Geison, 1995). The second great scientist, Robert Koch, whom I had already mentioned, has obviously made more impact on modern medicine, and microbiology than Edward Jenner.
Robert Koch, who is along with Louis Pasteur often regarded as the father and founder of microbiology and modern medicine, is very famous for isolating the Tuberculosis bacillus (1882), Bacillus anthracis (1877), and the Vibrio cholera (1883). His development of Koch's postulates cannot be also underestimated. According to Koch, in order to define that the organism is a real cause of disease, the organism should be found in all cases of the disease examined; prepared and maintained in a pure culture; capable of producing the original infection, even after several generations in culture; and should be retrievable from an inoculated animal and cultured again. (Brock, 1999) It should be also mentioned that Robert Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his works on tuberculosis (1905) that changed lives of many people in the world. Although it is quite difficult to compare the importance of the early work in microbiology to work being conducted today, it still should be admitted that the earliest works in the field of microbiology were obviously more significant than those of today. Years and centuries ago the scientists had to work harder in worse conditions to achieve results. Microbiology Module 1 Part B Recent Outbreak of Ebola virus hemorrhagic fever Basically, Ebola is the common term for group of viruses that belong to genus Ebola virus (EBOV) (a part of the family Filoviridae).
Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976 and was named after the Ebola River, a river in Zaire, known for the first recognized outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Questions and Answers about Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever). Ebola virus has long filaments; the shape is very similar to the shape of the Marburg virus; and as far as these two viruses belong to the family Filoviridae, they have similar disease symptoms. Ebola virus causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever, a very dangerous and, probably, one of the deadliest of all diseases called viral hemorrhagic fevers. Ebola hemorrhagic fever may range in seriousness from relatively mild symptoms of disease to severe and fatal diseases. Ebola hemorrhagic fever begins with muscle aches and fever and then, depending on a virus, the fever gets worse until the patient has hemorrhage, serious breathing problems, kidney problems and shock. No wonder that the recent outbreak of Ebola virus in Reston has caused concern at the time that it occurred.
Ebola viruses are found in Central Africa. Although the source of Ebola viruses still remains unknown, it is supposed that monkeys, similar to humans, are susceptible to the virus and then may serve as a source of virus when infected (Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever). The humans get infected by direct contact with virus-infected body fluids, blood, or organs. Ebola hemorrhagic fever spreads via the re-use of hypodermic needles, which is a common practice in African countries, such as Sudan, Zaire and others, where the recent outbreak of the disease was recorded. The scientists consider this to be the major causes of the recent outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, as health-care system is under financed and medical facilities in these countries often re-use needles.
Nowadays, new vaccines for Ebola viruses were used. These vaccines are 99 % effective in protecting a test group of monkeys that had similar symptoms and are based a recombinant Adenovirus that carries the Ebola spike protein on its surface or on a recombinant Vesicular stomatitis virus (Feldmann, Klenk, & Sanchez, 1993). The recent panic around Ebola took place in 1992, when the members of Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan thought about using Ebola virus as a terror weapon. The leader of Aum Shinrikyo cult Show Asahara led approximately 40 members of his cult to Zaire pretending they want to offer medical aid to patients suffering from Ebola while in fact they wanted to acquire Ebola virus sample (Feldmann, Klenk, & Sanchez, 1993). As far as the virus has approximately 70 - 95 % mortality rate, it could constitute a serious threat to the world, being a potential agent for biological warfare. The most important thing about Ebola virus was that it still has no approved way of 10) % treatment or effective vaccine; therefore, according to the international classification, it is classified as a biosafety level 4 agent, and a Category A bioterrorism agent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Feldmann, Klenk, & Sanchez, 1993).
The outbreak in Reston attracted public attention and lead to publication of various works on this virus. Numerous researches are conducted to discover effective vaccines and treatment therapies, however, the outbreaks do not last long due to rapid lethality of the patients who die before they are able to spread the contagious virus effectively. References Brock, T. D. (1999).
Robert Koch: A Life in Medicine and Bacteriology. Washington, D. C. : ASM Press. Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. (n. d. ). Retrieved July 14, 2009, from web Feldmann, H. , Klenk, H. , & Sanchez, A. (1993).
Molecular biology and evolution of filo viruses. Archives of Virology, 7, 81100. Geison, G. L. (1995). The private science of Louis Pasteur. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Questions and Answers about Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. (n. d. ). Retrieved July 14, 2009, from web Tiger, J. H. (1990). Louis Pasteur: Founder of Modern Medicine. Fenton, MI: Mott Media.
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Research essay sample on Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever Ebola Viruses
