Recently, there has been an upsurge in public fright and awareness in regards to the return of the Ebola virus. This virus is named “Ebola “because it was discovered near the Ebola River, in close proximity to the Congo. Its genesis begins with West Africa and is now rapidly spreading throughout across the entire globe, potentially affecting millions.
According to consensus, roughly 7,500 peo¬ple have been infected and from those people around 3,500 people have died due to Ebola. The symptoms are similar to the common cold and influenza. Diagnosis includes having a high fever, overall weakness, and is then fol¬lowed by vomiting and finally internal bleed¬ing and failure of the organs. Even though it is not spread through the air like the cold, it can spread through bodily fluid and direct contact with infected individuals. One Ebola patient named Thomas Eric Duncan had already passed away in America. Still, President Osama says that the chance for an Ebola outbreak in the United States is extremely low.
In order to stop the spread of this deadly virus, research scientists and drug experts have been busy finding a cure or minimizer. Amidst the chaos, an interesting discovery was found. Tobacco may be a legitimate solution for the Ebola virus. Tobacco is the main ingredient used to produce the drug called ZMapp. The first company to implement ZMapp is called Kentucky BioProcessing. This drug was tested on 4 monkeys with the Ebola virus and they all survived within 48 hours. While specific reactions may defer with primates and hu¬mans, the initial reaction is positive because our closest relative was able to survive the outbreak. The positive results did not stop at the monkeys because an actual patient named Dr. Kent Brantly, who did not have drugs for 9 days after he got infected, improved dramati¬cally compared with prior symptoms. Because tobacco based drugs are easily contained and manufactured through greenhouse produc¬tion, tobacco related drugs such as ZMapp, are more accessible than other drugs. Also, tobacco plants can produce enough antibodies for dozens of doses unlike egg-based drugs. Op¬timism and morale is high because of positive news, but we will still have to patiently wait until long-term plans and actions are deter¬mined.