An Ebola outbreak affecting a wide swath of West Africa has killed at least 672 people, including Liberia's most high-profile doctor.
As health authorities race to stop the spread of the typically fatal disease, here’s what you need to know.
Where does the virus come from?
Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fruit bats are considered to be the natural hosts of the virus. In Africa, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines have also been infected with Ebola.
How does Ebola spread?
Ebola outbreaks primarily occur in villages in Central and West Africa near tropical rainforests. The virus spreads to humans who've had close contact with blood, organs or bodily fluids of an animal infected with the virus. Ebola then spreads through communities by human-to-human transmission, either from direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.
Signs and symptoms
The viral illness is characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, according to the World Health Organization. Those symptoms are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding.
It typically takes between 2 and 21 days from the time of infection to the onset of symptoms.
Treatment
There are currently no vaccines available to treat Ebola. Patients are usually dehydrated and require oral or intravenous rehydration, but no specific treatment is used for people or animals. Ebola outbreaks have a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent.
Has the virus ever spread to Canada?
There's never been a confirmed case of Ebola in Canada and officials say the risk to Canadians remains very low, despite the ongoing outbreak in West Africa. Earlier this year, doctors feared a Saskatchewan man may have contracted the virus after becoming sick following a trip to Liberia. The Public Health Agency of Canada later announced the man tested negative for Ebola.
http://www.ctvnews.ca
As health authorities race to stop the spread of the typically fatal disease, here’s what you need to know.
Where does the virus come from?
Ebola first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fruit bats are considered to be the natural hosts of the virus. In Africa, chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope, and porcupines have also been infected with Ebola.
How does Ebola spread?
Ebola outbreaks primarily occur in villages in Central and West Africa near tropical rainforests. The virus spreads to humans who've had close contact with blood, organs or bodily fluids of an animal infected with the virus. Ebola then spreads through communities by human-to-human transmission, either from direct contact with blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.
Signs and symptoms
The viral illness is characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, according to the World Health Organization. Those symptoms are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases internal and external bleeding.
It typically takes between 2 and 21 days from the time of infection to the onset of symptoms.
Treatment
There are currently no vaccines available to treat Ebola. Patients are usually dehydrated and require oral or intravenous rehydration, but no specific treatment is used for people or animals. Ebola outbreaks have a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent.
Has the virus ever spread to Canada?
There's never been a confirmed case of Ebola in Canada and officials say the risk to Canadians remains very low, despite the ongoing outbreak in West Africa. Earlier this year, doctors feared a Saskatchewan man may have contracted the virus after becoming sick following a trip to Liberia. The Public Health Agency of Canada later announced the man tested negative for Ebola.
http://www.ctvnews.ca
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