10 Questions Everyone Is Asking About Ebola

What Is Ebola? Ebola is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the five Ebola virus strains. Each strain is named after the areas where they originated. Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus), Sudan virus, Taï Forest virus, and Bundibugyo virus have been known to cause disease in humans, while the Reston virus has not. Why Is It Called Ebola? The virus is named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where supposedly one of the first outbreaks occurred in 1976. How Do You Get Ebola? Ebola reportedly spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids — vomit, semen, sweat or blood — of someone who is symptomatic and shedding the virus. You can get Ebola through sex because it lives in semen up to 82 days or by touching a contaminated surface because Ebola can also live on surfaces for a few hours, and in blood outside of the body, for up to a few days. What Happens If You Get Ebola? About half of the people who contract Ebola die, usually within 10 days. The others return to a normal life after a months-long recovery that can include periods of hair loss, sensory changes, weakness, fatigue, headaches and eye and liver inflammation. What Are Ebola's Symptoms? Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headaches and a sore throat. These symptoms can appear two to 21 days after infection. The early symptoms progress to vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function and sometimes internal and external bleeding. Some patients may also develop a rash, red eyes, hiccups, chest pains and difficulty breathing and swallowing. How Is Ebola Treated and What About Experimental Drugs? There are several experimental drugs currently being investigated in the fight against Ebola, including some of the same antiviral drugs used against HIV. However, none has been proven to work against the virus. Therefore, only the Ebola patient's symptoms are treated. This involves giving intravenous fluids and salts and minerals they lose as a result of being so sick and oxygen and antibiotics if they have a bacterial infection. How Do I Protect Myself Against Ebola? Wash hands frequently or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, particularly someone who is sick. Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids nor should you touch the body of someone who has died from Ebola. Also, refrain from touching bats and nonhuman primates or their blood and fluids and do not touch or eat raw meat prepared from these animals. Seek medical care immediately if you develop fever (temperature of 101.5°F/ 38.6°C) and any of the symptoms listed above. Will There Be an Ebola Outbreak in the US? Ebola is not spread through casual contact; therefore, the risk of an outbreak in the U.S. is very low. Should People Traveling to Africa Be Worried About the Outbreak? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reportedly issued a Warning, Level 3 travel notice for United States citizens to avoid all nonessential travel to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nigeria has been downgraded to Watch, Level 1 because of the decreased risk of Ebola in Nigeria. A small number of Ebola cases, unrelated to the West African outbreak, have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so the CDC has also issued an Alert, Level 2 travel notice. If travel to the area affected by the outbreak is necessary, protect yourself by following the procedures in the previous item. How Bad Could This Epidemic Get? As of October 2014, approximately 8,000 people have been infected, and the death toll is at nearly 4,000. The World Health Organization projects that 20,000 people will be infected in November.

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