10 Ebola Facts - WMNews Ep. 2
As this rare and deadly disease continues to ravage West Africa, how safe are we? Welcome to WatchMojo News, the weekly series from http://www.WatchMojo.com that breaks down news stories that might be on your radar. In this instalment, we count down the top 10 crucial facts you should know about Ebola, including its origins, who it impacts, it's biological factors and how people fight the spread of this disease.
Top 10 Ebola Facts
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As this rare and deadly disease continues to ravage West Africa, how safe are we? Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and in this instalment of In Case You Missed It, we’re counting down the top 10 crucial facts you should know about Ebola.
#10: What Is It? History
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Officially known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, this is a highly infectious disease caused by the Ebolavirus. First discovered in Africa in 1976, during simultaneous outbreaks in two African countries, this disease has since taken the lives of thousands. There are five separate species of the virus, all with varying degrees of deadliness. The strain responsible for the 2014 outbreak, called Zaire ebolavirus named so after the Zaire River, now the Congo river, is the most deadly.
#9: Where Did It Come From? Origins
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Humans are not the natural host of the Ebola virus; it’s believed that the first person in any of the outbreaks becomes infected through contact with an infected animal. Scientists now believe that bats are the natural reservoir for the virus and that it’s transmitted to apes and humans through food or contact with surfaces that’ve been drooled or defecated on by infected animals. According to Doctors Without Borders, the 2014 outbreak originated in a village in Guéckédou Prefecture in Guinea where bat hunting is a common activity.
#8: How Many Are Infected? 2014 Outbreak
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The United Nations called the 2014 West Africa Ebolavirus outbreak a crisis “unparalleled in modern times.” After the first case was reported in March 2014, five West African countries and the United States were next to report instances of Ebola, with thousands having already contracted the virus. made the 2014 outbreak the largest and most complex one since the disease’s discovery. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, the sheer size of the outbreak in terms of cases and deaths outnumbers all previous outbreaks combined!
#7: How Contagious Is It? Transmission
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The incubation period for the ebolavirus can run between 2-21 days, meaning it can take that period of time for a person to develop symptoms, at which point they become infectious. In order to prevent transmission, avoid contact with an infected person’s or animal’s bodily fluids, like blood, saliva, urine or semen.
#6: How Will I Die? Symptoms / Cause of Death
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Ebola first manifests as a common flu, with symptoms like headache, fever, aches and pains. At that point, approximately 50% of cases take a turn for the worse, as victims can begin to bleed internally and externally, possibly causing them to vomit blood and bleed from their eyes. However death typically occurs when the blood vessels deep in the body begin to leak fluid, thereby causing blood pressure to plummet, and triggering heart, kidney, liver and other organ failure.
#5: Is There a Cure? Treatment
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There is presently no cure for Ebola, and therefore sufferers are treated with only supportive therapy. This includes balancing their fluids, and maintaining their oxygen levels and blood pressure. Currently, the United States’ and Canadian governments are in the process of fast-tracking the production of several vaccines, including ZMapp, which has shown promising results in patients with Ebola.
#4: How Quickly Will I Die? Prognosis / Death Rate
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Once symptoms appear, the course of the illness is very quick; it typically only lasts between 6-10 days. That being said, the prognosis for those infected with Ebola is grim. By October 2014, the death rate of that year’s outbreak hovered around 48%. However, while this number may seem high, it’s relatively low compared to previous occurrences when death rates soared as high as 90%.
#3: How Do We Contain It? Prevention / Control
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Standard control procedures for limiting Ebola transmission include basic hygiene, quarantining the sick or suspected Ebola victims, enforcing proper burial methods, and engaging the community. However, the 2014 epidemic grew so fast, containment efforts were unable to keep up. According to Doctors Without Borders, it will take months before government and healthcare workers in Africa will successfully overtake the virus. Additionally, in some parts of West Africa, the population is superstitious of doctors and instead turns to witch doctors for treatment; this has also lead to an increase of transmission of the virus.
#2: Who Is Contracting It? Noteworthy Cases / Deaths
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Amid all the Ebola stories, there are a few notable cases: the first is the death of Sheik Umar Khan, Sierra Leone’s only specialized doctor. Dr. Khan was a hero in his country, as he led the fight against Ebola and other viruses. In July 2014, Dr. Khan became ill. His colleagues debated the merits of giving him the highly experimental ZMapp vaccine, but finally decided against it, and Khan succumbed to the virus. Later that month, two American missionaries sick with Ebola were given the experimental vaccine and thankfully made a full recovery. On October 6th 2014, Spanish nurse María Teresa Romero Ramos became the first person to contract Ebola outside of West Africa. It’s believed that she contracted the virus by touching her face after tending to a sick missionary in Spain.
#1: How Will the World Overcome Ebola? The Future
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According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a worst-case scenario, if nothing changes its course, Ebola could infect up to 1.4-million people by the end of January 2015. Due to the incubation period, many countries have set up checkpoints at airports to test travellers for symptoms, with certain airlines suspending all flights from affected countries. Certain countries have even gone so far as to close their airports to travellers from Ebola-ravaged countries. On the upside, the 2014 outbreak has seen a large surge in donations of money and resources, as more than a dozen countries pledged troops and supplies to build vital medical treatment centers. Did these facts surprise you? To vote for which news story is covered next, head over to WatchMojo.com/suggest, and be sure to hit that subscribe button for more newsworthy top 10s every week.
