In Nzara, Sudan and Yambuku in
Democratic Republic of Congo
Takes its name from the
Ebola River, near which it
first appeared
Mainly found in tropical Central and West
Africa
How is it transmitted?
Virus lives in fruit bats
Transmitted to human pop. through close
contact with blood, sweat, secretions and other
bodily fluids
Human to human transmission
Direct contact
Broken skin or mucous membranes
Indirect contact
Environments contaminated with fluids
Not contagious until symptoms begin to show
West African burial ceremonies in which
mourners have direct contact with the body of the
deceased
What does it do to the body?
Beginning symptoms
Fever, muscle pain and sore throat
Rapidly escalates to vomiting,
diarrhoea and internal and external
bleeding
Incubation period: two to twenty-one days
Early treatment improves a patient's chance of
survival
It can take 21 days to start showing symptoms
Recent News
Outbreak began February 2014
Guinea, Liberia and
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Poor infection control and mistrust in the health
services allowed the virus to reach from the remote
jungles to the heart of the coastal capital Freetown
Liberia and Sierra Leona declared
states of public emergency
Army can now move in to enforce
quarantine zones
Airlines
West Africa airline Asky has suppended flights
to the capitals of both Liberia and Sierra Leone
Liberia
To close schools and consider quarantining
some communities
Killed more than 700
people since February
Transmission fears
Fear across the world of the disease
spreading outside of Africa
Airlines are screening people
coming from that area
Scientists say there is no real threat
Disease not highly contagious until the
effected person is sick
Not transmitted through the air
First world countries have better health care systems and
are ready for outbreaks like this one, unlike Sierra Leone
How is it treated?
No vaccine or cure
Testing to confirm the virus must be done
with the highest level of biohazard
protection
Several vaccines are being tested
but none are available for clinical use
Patients frequently severely dehydrated and
require oral rehydration
Families lose faith in Western
Medicine and take the patients
home to traditional village healers