MASTERS

What is ebola?
Ebola virus disease is a serious, usually fatal, disease for which there are no licensed treatments or vaccines. But for people living in countries outside Africa, it remains a very low threat.
How do Ebola outbreaks start?

It's thought the Ebola virus has been living harmlessly in fruit bats for many years, building up in this population and spreading to other forest animals including chimpanzees and gorillas.
It's likely the virus makes its way into people after they butcher or handle dead animals contaminated with the virus.
How does it spread among people?

People can become infected with the Ebola virus if they come into contact with the blood, body fluids or organs of an infected person.
Most people are infected by giving care to other infected people, either by directly touching the victim's body or by cleaning up body fluids (stools, urine or vomit) that carry infectious blood.
Traditional African burial rituals have also played a part in its spread. The Ebola virus can survive for several days outside the body, including on the skin of an infected person, and it's common practice for mourners to touch the body of the deceased. They only then need to touch their mouth to become infected.
Other ways people can catch Ebola are:
touching the soiled clothing of an infected person, then touching their mouth
having sex with an infected person without using a condom (the virus is present in semen for up to seven weeks after the infected person has recovered)
handling unsterilised needles or medical equipment that were used in the care of the infected person
A person is infectious as long as their blood, urine, stools or secretions contain the virus.
Ebola virus disease is generally not spread through routine social contact (such as shaking hands) with patients who do not have symptoms.
The virus is not, for example, as infectious as diseases like the flu, as airborne transmission is much less likely. You'd need to have close contact with the source of infection to be at risk.
What are the symptoms?

An infected person will typically develop a fever, headache, joint and muscle pain, sore throat, and intense muscle weakness. These symptoms start suddenly, between 2 and 21 days after becoming infected, but usually after 5-7 days.
Diarrhoea, vomiting, a rash, stomach pain and impaired kidney and liver function follow.
The patient then bleeds internally, and may also bleed from the ears, eyes, nose or mouth.
Ebola virus disease is fatal in 50-90% of cases. The sooner a person is given care, the better the chances that they will survive.
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