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Update: As of October 1, 2014, the West African Ebola outbreak has spread to at least five countries, with 6,574 cases—3,626 confirmed by laboratory tests—and 3,091 deaths. The first case diagnosed in the U.S., a person that traveled from West Africa to Dallas, Texas, was announced on September 30.
An Ebola virus disease outbreak centered on the West African country of Guinea has claimed more than 80 lives so far. You may have some questions about just how serious this disease is (very), what specific treatments are available (none) and how likely it is to get to your area (not very, unless you live in one of the countries bordering Guinea). Here’s a primer:
What Is Ebola?
Ebola virus disease, also known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, can be caused by any one of four species of virus belonging to the genus Ebolavirus: Ebola virus (EBOV); Bundibugyo virus (BDBV); Sudan virus (SUDV); and Tai Forest virus (TAFV).
The disease and virus gets its name from the Ebola River, which flows near the village of Yambuku in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the site of one of the first outbreaks of the virus in 1976, along with Nzara, a town in what is now South Sudan.
How Does It Spread?
Ebola is contagious, but it’s not an airborne infection like colds or the flu. People contract the virus by getting into close contact with blood and other bodily fluids of infected people or animals.
Typically, Ebola jumps from animals to humans when people prepare or eat animals known to harbor the virus – fruit bats, monkeys or apes, and some antelopes.
Ebola spreads from human to human via health care workers or family members treating infected people. Any burial ceremony where mourners touch the corpse of an infected person can also play a role. Sexual transmission is not the most commonly observed route of transmission, but men can still transmit the virus through their semen up to seven weeks after recovering from Ebola, according to the World Health Organization.
What Are The Symptoms?
Usually one of the first signs of Ebola is a sudden fever, along with weakness, muscle pain, sore throat and headache. Later, sufferers may experience vomiting, diarrhea, rash, internal and external bleeding, and impaired liver and kidney function. The delay between infection and first sign of symptoms can be anywhere from 2 to 21 days.
Ebola virus outbreaks are a serious danger to public health: they typically have a fatality rate of up to 90 percent.
Is There A Cure?
Unfortunately, there is no vaccine to prevent Ebola infection, and there are no specific drug treatments available either. Patients usually need intensive hospital care, including fluid treatments to combat dehydration, as well as blood transfusions.
What Is This Latest Outbreak Like?
As of Wednesday afternoon, the outbreak has resulted in 134 suspected ebola cases, with 40 of those confirmed by laboratory results, according to WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic, who spoke to us from the Guinean capital of Conakry. 84 people have died so far.
The outbreak started in southern Guinea, but has since spread to the capital and to at least one other country. Guinea and Liberia both have laboratory tests confirming the presence of the virus, while there are several suspected Ebola cases and deaths in Sierra Leone.
“We want to put out a balanced message,” Jasarevic says. “It’s a serious disease, highly contagious, with a high fatality ratio, and we don’t have a vaccine. But at the same time, we know this disease, and we know what measures to take.”
What’s Being Done To Control It?
Numerous agencies, including the WHO, Doctors Without Borders, and the Red Cross are assisting the Guinean health ministry in getting the word out to citizens about methods of avoiding Ebola infection. People are being advised to avoid handling or eating the animals that are known to harbor the virus, to avoid coming into contact with the body fluids of infected people or corpses, and to adopt strict hygiene routines including regular handwashing.
Agencies are also keeping tabs on people that have had contact with infected patients, watching to see if they develop signs of Ebola virus disease.
How did this particular outbreak begin, and just how long will it last? Experts don’t know yet, and Jasarevic says its too soon to predict the answers.
Comments
Comments
AdamsMichell says
My name is Adams Michell,am from liberia I am here to give my testimony
about a doctor who cured me from Ebola virus.i went to many hospitals,
churches for cure but there was no
solution out, so I was thinking how can I get a solution out so that i
cannot loose my life. One day I was
in the river side thinking the next step to take if it is to jump into
the river so that I can loose my life totally or just think where I can
go to get solution. so a lady walk to me telling me why am I so sad and i
open up all to him telling her my stories, she told me that she can
help me by introducing me to a powerful man, she
introduce me to a doctor who cast spells on people and gave me he number
and email so i called him and also email him. He told me all the things
I need to provide and also give me instructions to take, which I
followed properly. Before I knew what is happening he called me and told
me that am free from Ebola virus t thought he was not true until i went
for text i found out that am free. so if you are also infected please
email him at and also contact him at
AdamsMichell says
My name is Adams Michell,am from liberia I am here to give my testimony
about a doctor who cured me from Ebola virus.i went to many hospitals,
churches for cure but there was no
solution out, so I was thinking how can I get a solution out so that i
cannot loose my life. One day I was
in the river side thinking the next step to take if it is to jump into
the river so that I can loose my life totally or just think where I can
go to get solution. so a lady walk to me telling me why am I so sad and i
open up all to him telling her my stories, she told me that she can
help me by introducing me to a powerful man, she
introduce me to a doctor who cast spells on people and gave me he number
and email so i called him and also email him. He told me all the things
I need to provide and also give me instructions to take, which I
followed properly. Before I knew what is happening he called me and told
me that am free from Ebola virus t thought he was not true until i went
for text i found out that am free. so if you are also infected please
email him at and also contact him at …
AdamsMichell says
My name is Adams Michell,am from liberia I am here to give my testimony
about a doctor who cured me from Ebola virus.i went to many hospitals,
churches for cure but there was no
solution out, so I was thinking how can I get a solution out so that i
cannot loose my life. One day I was
in the river side thinking the next step to take if it is to jump into
the river so that I can loose my life totally or just think where I can
go to get solution. so a lady walk to me telling me why am I so sad and i
open up all to him telling her my stories, she told me that she can
help me by introducing me to a powerful man, she
introduce me to a doctor who cast spells on people and gave me he number
and email so i called him and also email him. He told me all the things
I need to provide and also give me instructions to take, which I
followed properly. Before I knew what is happening he called me and told
me that am free from Ebola virus t thought he was not true until i went
for text i found out that am free. so if you are also infected please
email him at and also contact him at ….
Gina Tesloff says
Matthew Potter
Doc Rob says
Is there a screen for blood donations like there is for hepatitis Nd hiv?
Michael Barbrie says
I was watching the news tonight and I couldn,t believe that the Texas Hospital let him go home after they knew that he had gone through Africa!!. also with all the sicknesses he told them he was suffering with” they should of Never let him go home!! ..now he,s Back in that same Hospital in ICU in serious condition!!. what is wrong with that Hospital to have Let him go Home!, :O
Nicholas Parsons says
Adam Blainey
Adam Blainey says
Worth considering. You’re never going to hear the truth about an outbreak from the mainstream media.
“The second possibility is one that virologists are loath to discuss openly but are definitely considering in private: that an Ebola virus could mutate to become transmissible through the air.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/opinion/what-were-afraid-to-say-about-ebola.html
World Science Festival says
Adam Blainey Scientists are and should be considering all possibilities when dealing with something like this, but the likelihood of it becoming transmissible by air is still low.