9 Facts about Ebola That You Need To Know

One of the scariest diseases of the 21 century is Ebola. It is important to note that Ebola has been around for a while. The biggest scare took place in 2014 where thousands of people died due to the virus. There are many speculations that have gone round about the hemorrhagic virus. Here are the 9 facts that you need to know about Ebola Virus.

The disease resides mostly in Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. The first case was reported in 1976. CDC and other medical personnel have been able to contain the disease as soon as it strikes in the above-named countries avoiding a widespread infection.
Ebola is also known as the hemorrhagic virus. The symptoms include coughing blood, diarrhea, rashes and a fever. It, however, begins as a flu or cold making it one of the most undetectable diseases. It is for this reasons that the disease hits and spreads so fast. Family members easily pass it on while taking care of a sick member believed to have a simple flu. The disease develops fast to more severe symptoms.

Ebola has no known cure. The disease can only be contained to ensure that it does not spread. It is only spread through contact and body fluids. Patients have to be isolated to contain the plague. Modern medicine is on its way to develop cures and vaccines for the virus with significant progress being noted.

The Ebola virus is believed to come from fruit bats. These bats are common in Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Fruit bats will scratch and bite humans passing on the virus. Patient zero will then come into contact with the rest of the family members leading to a full blown exposure.

The Ebola virus can hibernate for a long time waiting to be activated. Scientists are investigating the state and believed to be carriers of the disease to find ways of elimination.

People will react differently to the virus. There are those that will survive the attack while others will succumb. Ebola took 1552 lives in 2014 from 3069 infections. Investigations are still underway on why others are resistant to the deadly virus.

Ebola has a 50 to 90% mortality rate. This makes it one of the deadliest diseases spread by contact. Death is also swift creating very little window for treatment. It also means that more than half of the infected population and sometimes close to the whole lot will die from the virus.

Ebola can be prevented through maintaining hygiene. The area around the home and inside the house needs to be regularly sanitized. Ensure that all the vermin around you including rats and bats are gotten rid of. These act as carriers of the disease easily spreading it to members of the household. Prevention is the best shot against Ebola at the moment as the cure is being desperately sought after.

It is also advised that care can be taken when handling patients showing flu and cold symptoms in Ebola prone areas. Observation should be made without contact till verification is made.