Ebola Origin?

Actually, the Ebola virus is suspected to infect fruit bats and causes them little harm.

The reason that it causes humans so much harm is because we are genetically deficient in that we can not manufacture our own vitamin C like most other animals can. The virus uses up the vitamin C in the body. Vitamin C is used in several important processes, including the manufacture of collagen and connective tissue that holds everything together including blood vessels.

When the vitamin C is used up, the body develops a condition known as scurvy. When scurvy occurs, blood vessels, especially capillaries will break open resulting in hemorrhaging.

People who bruise easily or have bleeding gums or other signs of low level scurvy are probably more likely to die as are people who are deficient in vitamin D3, which is about 90 percent of the US population in summer and 95 to 98 percent in the late winter months.

Back to the fruit bats: They make their own vitamin C and do not get as sick. They just get a case of diarrhea and leave it on fruit. They may also leave their saliva on fruit that they taste. If the fruit is not properly washed, BAMM! It can also be contracted by eating the infected bat meat. Many Ebola outbreaks start with children which indicates the fruit connection. This has been proposed as the mode of origin for the disease but is not yet proven.

They originally thought that is was monkeys that the virus came from because they thought that it had to be an animal that is closely related genetically. Also, monkeys are a popular source of bush meat in Africa. Monkeys being the source has not been disproved.

Ebola is actually only one of over a dozen hemorrhagic virus infections that can occur. There are even some here in the US that are not often heard of but no less fearsome.