What you need to know about EBOLA Virus
An Ebola outbreak affecting a wide swath of West Africa has killed at least 672 people, including Dr Samuel Brisbane, one of Liberia's most high-profile doctors.
As health authorities race to stop the spread of the typically fatal disease, here’s what you need to know.
Where does the virus come from?
Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fruit bats are considered to be the natural hosts of the virus. In Africa, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines have also been infected with Ebola.
How does Ebola spread?
Ebola outbreaks primarily occur in villages in Central and West Africa near tropical rainforests. The virus spreads to humans who've had close contact with blood, organs or bodily fluids of an animal infected with the virus. Ebola then spreads through communities by human-to-human transmission, either from direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.
Signs and symptoms
The viral illness is characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, according to the World Health Organization. Those symptoms are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding.
It typically takes between 2 and 21 days from the time of infection to the onset of symptoms.
Treatment
There are currently no vaccines available to treat Ebola. Patients are usually dehydrated and require oral or intravenous rehydration, but no specific treatment is used for people or animals. Ebola outbreaks have a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent.
Has the virus ever spread to Nigeria?
The first case of Ebola virus was confirmed in July, after a Liberian diplomat boarded a plane to Lagos, Nigeria's most populous metropolis, home to over 21 million people. The Liberian identified as Patrick Sawyer, died in an isolation ward and authorities said they are currently investigating anyone who may have come into contact with him.
The death marks a new and alarming cross-border development in a disease that has spiralled into the world's biggest epidemic, spreading across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
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| (Edward Echwalu/Reuters) |
Where does the virus come from?
Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fruit bats are considered to be the natural hosts of the virus. In Africa, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines have also been infected with Ebola.
How does Ebola spread?
Ebola outbreaks primarily occur in villages in Central and West Africa near tropical rainforests. The virus spreads to humans who've had close contact with blood, organs or bodily fluids of an animal infected with the virus. Ebola then spreads through communities by human-to-human transmission, either from direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.
Signs and symptoms
The viral illness is characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, according to the World Health Organization. Those symptoms are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding.
It typically takes between 2 and 21 days from the time of infection to the onset of symptoms.
Treatment
There are currently no vaccines available to treat Ebola. Patients are usually dehydrated and require oral or intravenous rehydration, but no specific treatment is used for people or animals. Ebola outbreaks have a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent.
Has the virus ever spread to Nigeria?
The first case of Ebola virus was confirmed in July, after a Liberian diplomat boarded a plane to Lagos, Nigeria's most populous metropolis, home to over 21 million people. The Liberian identified as Patrick Sawyer, died in an isolation ward and authorities said they are currently investigating anyone who may have come into contact with him.
The death marks a new and alarming cross-border development in a disease that has spiralled into the world's biggest epidemic, spreading across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
What you need to know about EBOLA Virus
Reviewed by Msl
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02:53
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Reviewed by Msl
on
02:53
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very enlightening. Big ups
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