The
Ebola virus has claimed more than 4,800 lives during the current
epidemic in West Africa, the largest outbreak since the virus was
discovered nearly 40 years ago.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 13,000 people have been infected
What is Ebola?
Ebola is a serious infectious illness which often proves fatal.The virus, which is thought to have originated in fruit bats,
was first detected in 1976 in an outbreak near the Ebola River in what
is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.
How is the disease caught and spread?
People are infected when they have direct contact through
broken skin, or the mouth and nose, with the blood, vomit, faeces or
bodily fluids of someone with Ebola.
The virus can be present in urine and semen too.Infection may also occur through direct contact with contaminated bedding, clothing and surfaces - but only through broken skin.
It is still unclear how long the virus exists on surfaces but
there is some evidence to suggest it can last up to six days. Bleach
and
chlorine can kill Ebola.
The disease is not airborne, like flu. Very close direct
contact with an infected person is required for the virus to be passed
to another person.
It can take up anything from two to 21 days for humans with the virus to show symptoms.
People are not infectious until the symptoms develop.
People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions
contain the virus - in some cases, up to seven weeks after they recover.
World Health Organization guidance on Ebola
What are the symptoms?
The Ebola virus causes a range of painful and debilitating symptoms
The early symptoms are a sudden fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache and sore throat.
This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, a rash and bleeding -
both internal and external - which can be seen in the gums, eyes, nose
and in the stools.
Patients tend to die from dehydration and multiple organ failure.
How is it treated?
Ebola vaccines are being tested on humans in trials in the US and the UK
There is no proven cure for Ebola.
Severely ill patients need to be rehydrated quickly using
intravenous fluids. They should be isolated from other people and given
intensive care by medical experts.
Potential vaccines are being tested. If the trials are successful they would be used to protect healthcare workers first.
Experimental drugs such as ZMapp have also been used, but their effectiveness has not been proved.
Blood products from survivors are also being tried as a potential therapy.
The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says this
outbreak comes from the deadliest and most aggressive strain of the
virus.
It is not known which factors allow some people to recover while most succumb but experts say early treatment is key.
Experimental treatments
Ethics: Resolving the Ebola dilemma
I caught Ebola in Guinea and survived
Who is at risk?
Doctors wearing protective equipment outside an Ebola treatment unit in Nigeria
Anyone in close contact with Ebola patients is at risk.
Healthcare workers are using protective clothing such as full-body suits and goggles, but hundreds have still died.
Family members of patients are also at risk. In West African
funerals, it is traditional for mourners to have direct contact with the
body of the dead person, washing and embracing them before burial.
But the Ebola virus is still dangerous and present in the body after death. Prompt and safe burials are now being urged.
MSF has been trying to make people aware of how their
treatment of dead relatives might pose a risk to themselves. However, it
is a very difficult message to get across.
What precautions can be taken?
Washing hands and improving hygiene is one of the best ways to fight the virus
Avoid contact with Ebola patients and their bodily fluids, the
WHO advises. Do not touch anything - such as shared towels - which could
have become contaminated in a public place.
Carers should wear gloves and protective equipment, such as masks, and wash their hands regularly.
The WHO also warns against consuming raw bushmeat and any
contact with infected bats or monkeys and apes. Fruit bats in particular
are considered a delicacy in the area of Guinea where the outbreak
started.
In March, Liberia's health minister advised people to stop
having sex, in addition to existing advice not to shake hands or kiss.
The WHO says men can still transmit the virus through their semen for up
to seven weeks after recovering from Ebola.
How not to catch Ebola
Profile: Dr Sheik Umar Khan
Saving lives on the Ebola front line
No handshakes, no sex
Where is Ebola a problem?
A woman suspected of having Ebola virus cries outside a hospital in Sierra Leone.
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa are
the countries worst affected by this outbreak, which was identified as Ebola in March 2014.
It started in Guinea, which has never before been affected, and quickly spread to urban areas.
From Nzerekore, a remote area of south-eastern Guinea, the
virus spread to the capital, Conakry, and neighbouring Liberia and
Sierra Leone.
Nigeria and Senegal have confirmed a small number of cases, and the US has had three confirmed cases.
In October, a nurse in Spain became the first person to contract the virus outside of West Africa.
Ebola deaths since 1976
Why is this outbreak particularly bad?
Health workers have been brought into affected countries to help treat patients with Ebola
The virus has taken hold in major urban areas this time, allowing it to spread more easily.
The countries most severely affected by the disease have
weak health systems. They are short of qualified doctors and nurses, and lack the appropriate equipment and resources to combat the virus.
As a result, this is the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the virus was discovered.
There have been more cases and deaths in this one than all other outbreaks combined.
