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Illustrations:thinkstock;gettyimages
cheat sheet
by hazel FLYNN
Start at the Beginning:
Not everyone who catches Ebola virus disease
will die, but it kills at a far higher rate than many
other diseases. Africa is currently
experiencing a headline-making outbreak
of the disease, which is spread by
person-to-person transmission. In
previous epidemics, 50% of affected
people died but without medical
treatment this can rise as high as
90%. The WHO has reported
a fatality rate during
the current
epidemic in
West Africa
of about
72%. This
drops to
60% for
patients in
hospital.
Ebola
What Are Its
Origins? The first
outbreak of 602 recorded
cases was in 1976 in Sudan
and in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (formerly Zaire), near
the Ebola River. It may have
been initially spread as a
result of handling bushmeat
(wild animals hunted for
food) or contact with
infected bats. The
current Ebola
outbreak, mainly
in the West
African countries
of Guinea, Liberia
and Sierra Leone,
began in March 2014 and
is the worst so far. By
December, there were
more than 17,000
people infected and
more than 6000 deaths
recorded.
Tell Me More: Symptoms appear anywhere from 2-21 days after
exposure, but most commonly show up in 8-10 days. Unlike, say, chickenpox,
a person with Ebola cannot spread the disease before their symptoms appear.
The virus passes from one person to another only by direct contact with blood
and bodily fluids, which may enter the body through mucous membranes or
breaks in the skin. It is not spread through the air. People caring for the sick or
handling the bodies of people infected with Ebola are particularly exposed.
At first, Ebola seems much like the flu, causing headaches, pains and fever.
Vomiting and diarrhoea and sometimes a rash follows. More than two-thirds of
sufferers will then experience a severe decline as the virus
causes them to haemorrhage; they may pass blood
in urine or vomit, or from the eyes or mouth. Death
is usually caused by organ
failure and septic shock
following the drastic loss
of blood pressure when
blood vessels leak fluid.
Is There Any
Good News?
Yes. Ebola is not nearly
as contagious as you might
fear. Each person with Ebola
passes it to 1.5 to 2 others. In
comparison, measles is far
more easily transmittable (an
average of 18 contagions),
but does not have the same
high mortality rate. Also,
hospital healthcare measures
such as fluid management
and blood transfusions can
greatly increase survival
rates. Finally, several potential
vaccines are now in active
development.
US$1.3m:Cost of two Ebola patients at Nebraska
Medical Center, US. A 70-bed purpose-
built Ebola unit in Bong, Liberia, costs
$1m/month to run and an average
Liberian centre spends $1200/patient.
Sources: Washington Post; Forbes.com; Samaritan’s Purse
InstantAnswers
“As we
work to help the
communities affected
by this virus, we must not
let our fear outweigh our
compassion”
Dr Tom Frieden, Director of US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
GUINEA
SIERRA
LEONE
LIBERIA
SUDAN
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC
OF CONGO
6070:Deaths in the first nine months
of the current outbreak
Source: WHO, December 3, 2014
Ebola is a filovirus, with a
threadlike structure. Its spiky
surface helps viral particles
attach to cells and proceed to
enter them and replicate