Ebola: What you need to know

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  • A Liberian military police truck with warnings on its side door, one reading 'Tell Everyone You Meet About Ebola' patrol through the streets to prevent panic by people over the Ebola virus in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. U.S. health officials warned Americans not to travel to the three West African countries hit by the worst recorded Ebola outbreak in history. The travel advisory issued Thursday applies to nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the deadly disease has killed thousands of people this year. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
    Ebola outbreak is worst in history

    The worst Ebola outbreak in history has put a number of countries in West Africa in lockdown, led to the deaths of thousands of people since February and brought new reports of doctors, including Americans, contracting the virus they are attempting to contain. The situation is undeniably scary. Here's what you need to know.

     

  • In this photo taken on Sunday, July 27, 2014, medical personnel inside a clinic are taking care of Ebola patients in the Kenema District on the outskirts of Kenema, Sierra Leone. Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has closed some border crossings and ordered strict quarantines of communities affected by the Ebola outbreak. (AP Photo/ Youssouf Bah)
    What is Ebola?

    Ebola viral disease is a highly infectious illness with fatality rates up to 90 percent, according to the U.N. World Health Organization. Symptoms initially include a sudden fever as well as joint and muscle aches and then typically progress to vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding.

    The virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids of someone who is infected. Reports of human infections usually first emerge in remote areas that are in proximity to tropical rain forests, where humans can come into contact with animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas and forest antelope. The consumption of bush meat is often a precursor to such outbreaks. The WHO says fruit bats are probably the natural host for the virus.

  • In this 2014 photo provided by the Samaritan's Purse aid organization, Dr. Kent Brantly, left, treats an Ebola patient at the Samaritan's Purse Ebola Case Management Center in Monrovia, Liberia. On Saturday, July 26, 2014, the North Carolina-based aid organization said Brantly tested positive for the disease and was being treated at a hospital in Monrovia. (AP Photo/Samaritan's Purse)
    How is it spread and what are the symptoms?

    While an infected person who sneezes or coughs directly in another person's face could infect that person, Ebola primarily enters the body through tiny cuts or abrasions, or through mucus membranes of the eyes, nose, ears and mouth. 

    Symptoms: Sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat are typical signs and symptoms. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Infections can only be confirmed through laboratory testing.

  • This photo provided by the CDC shows an ebola Virus. U.S. health officials are monitoring the Ebola outbreak in Africa but say the risk of the deadly germ spreading to the United States is remote. (AP Photo/CDC)
    Why is it called Ebola?

    It's named after a tributary river in northern Congo. In 1976, a village near the river was the site of one of two simultaneous outbreaks of the disease (the other was in Sudan). Of the six known strains of Ebola, the five that are transmittable to humans are found in Africa. A sixth, the Reston virus, ravaged monkey populations in the Philippines, but no humans in its environs have contracted the illness.

  • A banner reading 'Lets prevent the spread of Ebola, in front of the city hall in Monrovia, Liberia, on July 31. (AP Photo/Jonathan Paye-Layleh)
    Can Ebola be cured?

    There is no known vaccine for the disease, but if caught early, it can be treated like other viruses such as influenza. The CDC recommends supportive therapy such as administering liquids and electrolytes and maintaining the patients' oxygen status and blood pressure. Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, the Paris-based medical NGO, said a strict quarantine while treating patients is essential to controlling outbreaks and was vital when the group's doctors helped contain an outbreak in Uganda in 2012.

    Ebola is alarmingly contagious; there have been incidents in which the disease has spread at funerals for victims. Public health officials deem an outbreak to be over only after 42 days have elapsed without any new confirmed cases, which is leading some to predict that the current crisis may last well into the autumn.

  • An employee of the Monrovia City Corporation sprays disinfectant on a street, in front of a building in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, in the city of Monrovia, Liberia on Aug. 1, 2014 .U.S. health officials warned Americans not to travel to the three West African countries hit by the worst recorded Ebola outbreak in history. The travel advisory applies to nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
    How bad is the current outbreak?

    Bad — very, very bad. It's concentrated in three small West African states: Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, where reports of Ebola infections first emerged in February. The outbreak has claimed thousands of lives and, worryingly, infected medical personnel attempting to stop its spread. A prominent Liberian physician died Sunday.

    What's particularly scary, though, was the recent death of a Liberian man in Lagos, the bustling coastal mega-city in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. The man, a consultant for the Liberian government, had traveled from Liberia through an airport in Lome, the capital of Togo, before arriving in Nigeria. The hospital where he died is under lockdown, and the WHO has sent teams to Togo and Nigeria.

  • Liberian soldiers in a medical truck, with papers on it reading 'EBOLA MOST GO' drive past as they patrol streets to prevent panic, as fears of the deadly Ebola virus spread in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, on Aug 1. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
    So what can be done now?

    Those who have contracted the virus and the medical personnel treating them need to be kept under strict quarantine. That's easier said than done, especially in countries where resources are limited and public health protocols are not always heeded. On Monday, Liberia sealed off most of its border crossings (it has kept its main airport open). Nigeria has placed all entry points into the country on "red alert." The threat of the virus spreading beyond the immediate region remains real, and authorities have to be vigilant. A patient may manifest symptoms of the virus only three weeks after getting infected.

    One of the continuing challenges is getting local populations to abide by the edicts of government authorities and foreign health workers. The WHO has repeatedly warned about the risk posed by mourners reclaiming the bodies of the deceased for traditional burial ceremonies. But in some cases during the current outbreak, families have refused to hand over the bodies to officials; some communities have staged roadblocks to halt ambulances and launched protests outside hospitals and clinics.

  • An employee of the Monrovia City Corporation mixes disinfectant before spraying it on the streets in a bid to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, in the city of Monrovia, Liberia, Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. U.S. health officials warned Americans not to travel to the three West African countries hit by the worst recorded Ebola outbreak in history. The travel advisory issued Thursday applies to nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the deadly disease has killed thousands this year. (AP Photo/Abbas Dulleh)
    Wait, why would they do that?

    The hysteria caused by the spread of Ebola has led also to the spread of rumor and conspiracy theories. Angry crowds have accused foreigners of bringing the virus in their midst: In April, the threat of violence forced Doctors Without Borders to evacuate all its staff from a treatment center in Guinea. In Sierra Leone, which has the largest number of Ebola cases at present, thousands protested over the weekend outside the country's main Ebola treatment facility in the eastern city of Kenema.

    Police had to disperse the crowd with tear gas and a 9-year-old was injured in the leg by a police bullet, Reuters reports. The demonstration was sparked, the news agency claims, by a rumor spread in a nearby market that the disease was a ruse used to justify "cannibalistic rituals" being carried out in the hospital. And so as the outbreak rumbles on, the panic surrounding it may be spreading just as virulently.

  • n this photo taken on July 27, medical personnel inside a clinic taking care of Ebola patients in the Kenema District on the outskirts of Kenema, Sierra Leone. Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has closed some border crossings and ordered strict quarantines of communities affected by the Ebola outbreak. (AP Photo/ Youssouf Bah)
    Are we developing drugs for Ebola?

    An experimental antibody cocktail being developed by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada, the U.S. Army and two drug companies, Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. of San Diego and Toronto-based Defyrus Inc. has shown promise in animal tests. Safety studies in healthy humans may begin in the first half of next year, according to Defyrus. While Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. is also testing its Ebola therapy, the Food and Drug Administration placed the trial on hold due to safety concerns.