Ebola Epidemic: What You Need To Know

By Cameron Goodman

If you aren’t living under a rock, and go on any social media/ read any news sources, you would have heard about the Ebola outbreak. This deadly disease is the talk of many conversations on campus and there is a reason why.

What is Ebola? It is a deadly virus, which spreads through the body and causes uncontrollable bleeding. It is also called Ebola hemorrhagic fever or Ebola virus disease. It has 5 different virus strains, 4 that cause the illness in human beings. The believed animal reservoir is fruit bats. It is called Ebola because one of the first cases broke out near the Ebola River in Africa.

Why is Ebola scary? There are very high death rates, on average 50%, ranging from 2-90% dead from infection of this disease. This is considered to be the new HIV/AIDS because neither have a cure.  Humans transmit this through contact with any bodily fluid and likely an object that has been exposed as well.

How do you know if you have Ebola?  Symptoms include headache, sore throat, fever, fatigue, and stomach pain. When the disease worsens bleeding internally and externally, diarrhea, and vomiting occur.  Symptoms for this disease might not show up until 2-21 days of being infected because there is an incubation period (time elapsed between exposure of disease and when symptoms happen), but usually show up within 8 to 9 days after exposure. Humans are only infectious when they have symptoms!

How do you prevent and control Ebola? Knowledge is key: spreading awareness and knowing how to protect yourself will help lower human transmission. Those who come in contact with someone with Ebola must wear personal protective equipment and wash their hands frequently. Also, the health of those who may have been in contact with the disease will be monitored for 21 days (in the United States).

Where has Ebola been found? This recent outbreak, since March, has been found in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Democratic of the Congo, and Senegal. Six people from United States have been infected with Ebola. One person from the United States, Thomas Eric Duncan, has died.

These facts have just been the basics of this disease, and to learn more go to:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/