NO CURE EBOLA VIRUS coming to SG in no time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease

Ebola virus disease
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Ebola" redirects here. For other uses, see Ebola (disambiguation).
Ebola virus disease
Classification and external resources
7042 lores-Ebola-Zaire-CDC Photo.jpg
1976 photograph of two nurses standing in front of Mayinga N., a patient with Ebola virus disease; she died only a few days later due to severe internal hemorrhaging.
ICD-10 A98.4
ICD-9 065.8
DiseasesDB 18043
MedlinePlus 001339
eMedicine med/626
MeSH D019142

Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is the human disease caused by the ebola virus. Symptoms typically start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus, with a fever, throat and muscle pains, and headaches. There is then typically nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. At this point, some people begin to have problems with bleeding.[1]

The disease is usually acquired when a person comes into contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected animal such as a monkey or fruit bat. Fruit bats are believed to carry and spread the virus without being affected by it. Once infection of a human occurs, the disease may be spread from one person to another. People who survive may be able to transmit the disease sexually for nearly two months. To make the diagnosis, typically other diseases with similar symptoms such as malaria, cholera and other viral hemorrhagic fever are first excluded. The blood may then be tested for antibodies to the virus, or the viral RNA, or the virus itself, to confirm the diagnosis.[1]

Prevention includes decreasing the spread of the disease from infected monkeys and pigs to humans. This may be done by checking these types of animals for infection and killing and properly disposing of the bodies if the disease is discovered. Properly cooking meat and wearing protective clothing when handling meat may also be helpful, as is wearing protective clothing and washing hands when around a person who has the disease. Samples of bodily fluids and tissues from people with the disease should be handled with special caution.[1]

There is no single treatment for the virus. Efforts to help persons who are infected include giving them either oral rehydration therapy or intravenous fluids.[1] The disease has a high death rate: often between 50% and 90% of those who are infected with the virus.[1][2] It typically occurs in outbreaks in tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa.[1] Between 1976, when it was first identified, and 2014, fewer than 1,000 people a year have been infected.[1][3] The largest outbreak to date is the ongoing 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which is affecting Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. The disease was first identified in the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Efforts are ongoing to develop a vaccine; however, none exists as of 2014.[

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/30/what-ebola-on-a-plane-means-for-the-us.html

What Ebola on a Plane Means for the U.S.
Usually Ebola victims get too sick, too quickly to travel—so the disease stays relatively contained. But now that an infected man was able to fly from Liberia to Nigeria, the game has changed.

The unrelenting Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa became decidedly scarier for Americans this week when someone who had flown the 1,000 miles from Liberia, where the epidemic is ongoing, to Lagos, Nigeria, where no cases had occurred, died of the infection.

According to The Daily Beast, naturalized American citizen Patrick Sawyer became ill on the plane after it left Liberia; once he landed, he went directly to the hospital, was isolated, and died soon thereafter. In response, the West African airline carrier he had used, ASKY, headquartered in nearby Togo, has suspended all flights into and out of Liberia and Guinea as well as Sierra Leone. Until Mr. Sawyer’s death, all 1,201 cases reported to the WHO through July 27, including the 672 deaths, had occurred in one of these three adjacent West Africa countries.

The single case ups the fear factor for one simple reason. The working hypothesis till now had been that Ebola would more or less stay put, spreading town-to-town, affecting only neighboring countries, exactly because it is so fierce. The time from infection to severe illness is typically so fast that it is unlikely that a person would be able to get it together enough to go to the airport while contagious—or else, would be so obviously unwell as to draw attention to himself.

Sawyer’s 1,000-mile flight changes this. The epidemic had been slowly expanding over five months, demonstrating that—despite headlines suggesting otherwise—it is not that contagious, except for those in sustained intimate contact. In contrast, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic infected 60 million Americans in just about the same five-month period of time. But now, Ebola has moved beyond its standard slow motion, person-to-person transmission. Rather than inching along, it has hopped.

But now, Ebola has moved beyond its standard slow motion, person-to-person transmission. Rather than inching along, it has hopped.

Stated another way, geographic distance is a critical advantage in the world of epidemics, as well as in war. In WWI, Georges Clemenceau wrote to President Wilson and David Lloyd George, the English Prime Minister: “America is far away, protected by the ocean… You are both sheltered; we [the French] are not.” The same geographic barrier had seemed Ebola-proof, until now.

To add to the gloom, several high profile Ebola cases have occurred in healthcare workers treating patients with the disease. Both Samuel Brisbane, a Liberian physician and Ebola specialist, and Sheikh Umar Khan, the lead Ebola expert in Sierra Leone, have died in recent days. In addition, two American healthcare workers dedicated to working in Liberia and treating patients with Ebola, Dr. Kent Brantly and nurse Nancy Writebol, are hospitalized in isolation in Liberia. Their condition remains extremely serious.

The CDC, which has been active in supporting work in West Africa but calm about prospects for cases in the US, has issued a faintly alarming statement in a Health Advisory released Monday. They wrote that, “while the possibility of infected persons entering the U.S. remains low, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that healthcare providers in the U.S. should consider EVD [Ebola virus disease] in the differential diagnosis of febrile illness, with compatible symptoms, in any person with recent (within 21 days) travel history in the affected countries and consider isolation of those patients meeting these criteria, pending diagnostic testing.” In CDC-speak this is mostly caution and not fear—but it is the first time they have moved this tone into the first paragraph of an Ebola advisory, and the first time they have carpet-bombed practitioners nation-wide with emails and faxes.

Despite the rising gloom, the future for the public’s health actually is only slightly more grim than it has been until now. This does not mean that the tragedy is near an end—there surely will be more cases and more deaths in the weeks to come, as occurs with any epidemic. But the Sawyer case combined with the heartless parsimony of all lethal outbreaks means that the truth will out and soon. Much of the understanding of just how bad it's going to be rests on the fate of the hundreds of passengers and flight attendants who shared the ASKY flight with Patrick Sawyer.

If, as is likely, none of them become ill, this will prove that the disease is, as suspected, very difficult to transmit unless one comes into close contact with blood or urine or stool. If however a few passengers do develop Ebola, then the ocean may indeed no longer protect the United States.

Given the incubation period of the virus, we should know by the end of the week. My guess is this will remain an African tragedy and not threaten larger geographic swathes. But the deeper tragedy is that it seems to have taken the Stewart death and the harsh fates of Dr. Brantly and Ms. Writebol to finally alert people to this devastating epidemic of Ebola virus. In other words, we had to wait till we were scared senseless to pay attention; in the meantime many have died. Though the epidemics may change year to year, the point remains the same: making decisions based on fearfulness is awful public policy.



http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/is-canada-prepared-to-handle-a-potential-ebola-outbreak-1.1939414


Is Canada prepared to handle a potential Ebola outbreak?
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CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Wednesday, July 30, 2014 5:28PM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, July 30, 2014 5:37PM EDT

As fears grow over an Ebola outbreak in West Africa, one leading health expert says Canada is prepared to prevent the spread of the deadly disease in North America, should it pose a threat beyond Africa.

As some American aid groups pull their workers out of West Africa amid a recent Ebola outbreak that has claimed the lives of more than 670 people, officials in the U.K. held an emergency meeting Wednesday to address what the British government called a “serious threat.”

Dr. Keith Martin, executive director for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, says while some 50 countries are now in the midst of developing networks aimed at responding to deadly bugs such as Ebola, Canada already has an “excellent” response system in place.

“But there’s a lot more to do, in a lot more countries,” Martin said in an interview on CTV’s News Channel Wednesday.

Martin said the response to the SARS crisis in 2003 prompted a more unified approach to global infectious disease control. SARS -- severe acute respiratory syndrome -- spread from China to various regions of the world, including Canada. Many health agencies were blindsided by the deadly disease, which killed dozens of people and prompted travel advisories from the World Health Organization.

“We lost a lot of money globally on SARS by not being prepared,” Martin said.

Prior to SARS, Martin said, public health agencies kept information private, and there was no proper mechanism for detecting “bad bugs” like Ebola. He said public health agencies, and organizations like the Centres for Disease Control, now take a more unified approach.

“They’re starting to collaborate to develop a surveillance mechanism where we can identify bad bugs when they happen, and develop the appropriate response and the international warning mechanism that’s necessary to prevent such a bug from actually expanding and killing a lot more people,” Martin said.

As a precautionary response to the Ebola threat in Africa, some airlines are cancelling flights to and from areas where there is a higher concentration of Ebola cases. But Martin said the deadly bug is actually fairly difficult to contract, since it requires contact with bodily fluids infected with the bug.

“Unless you’re coming in close contact with the body secretions of (infected) animals or somebody who has died or is infected with Ebola, you’re not goiing to get Ebola,” Martin said.

http://www.vox.com/2014/7/29/594841...se-virus-symptoms-africa-facts-guinea-nigeria


The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history

Updated at July 30, 2014, 3:50 p.m. ET
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Outbreak is the deadliest type of Ebola virus
Ebola_death_rates_2

These death rates were calculated by adding up the records of cases and deaths from all known outbreaks. Individual outbreaks can vary, and Zaire ebolavirus is often cited as having death rates up to 90 percent.

Not all Ebola viruses are the same. As happens often with viruses, close relatives can have very different effects.

The current Ebola outbreak is of the Zaire ebolavirus species. This one has historically had the highest death rate of the five different species of Ebola virus. The species was named after Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), where it was first found in 1976.

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Should you be afraid of the Ebola threat?

The World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control have both said the risk that Ebola will spread beyond West Africa is extremely low. "The virus is difficult to transmit," Gregory Härtl, a WHO spokesperson, told Vox. "Yes, there was this case of a person with Ebola going to Nigeria on a plane, but in all of history, only one or two people with Ebola got on planes."

Still, fear-mongering headlines about the worst outbreak in Ebola history abound in the press: "Here are the 35 countries one flight away from Ebola;" "Global authorities on alert over Ebola outbreak;" "Deadly foreign diseases are 'potential major threat'."

So we called Art Reingold, the head of epidemiology at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health to make sense of the news. As a disease epidemiologist who has spent the last 30 years studying the prevention and control of infectious diseases around the world, he knows how and why viruses spread. Here's a transcript of our conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

Julia Belluz: How is this outbreak different from others in the past?

Art Reingold: This outbreak is certainly really bad. It's different from the ones we have seen in the past, which generally have started in and often been confined to villages or reasonably limited areas where most of the population is rural and scattered. We now have an outbreak in multiple countries, including urban areas. For this outbreak to be in West Africa is unusual; most have been in Central and East Africa. This represents a new set of challenges people haven't faced before. It is definitely going to be a real challenge to bring this outbreak under control.

JB: Because this is the worst Ebola outbreak in history—with three Western African nations affected—and because Ebola is so deadly, people everywhere are afraid. What is the actual risk that this virus will spread beyond West Africa?

AR: People should not be concerned about Ebola spreading to the US or other wealthy countries. It's transmitted entirely through exposure to bodily fluids. In settings with Ebola, there's bleeding in a variety of places and the virus is present in those excretions, and people need to come into contact with that to get the virus. The people at risk are the family members who are taking care of sick people, those who are preparing bodies for burial, and health-care workers.

JB: Some airlines are enacting travel bans since the outbreak. Are they justified then?

AR: The virus is not transmitted through coughing and sneezing, or through sitting next to someone on a bus or the like. The idea that the virus can somehow mutate and become more readily transmissible from person to person through coughing or sneezing—those are Hollywood scenarios. The idea that Ebola can become more readily transmissible through casual contact is unrealistic and not something we are concerned about. It's people whose job it is to deal with this virus—those working at the ministries of health, health care providers, those struggling with how to get the outbreak in the affected countries under control—that need to be concerned.

JB: What about a worst-case scenario, if it did spread?

AR: In high-income countries like in Europe and the US, we know how to prevent the transmission of Ebola. It has to do with making sure suspected patients are treated and isolated, and appropriate measures are taken for the health-care workers taking care of them. That's what worked in Africa in the past and it should be possible to prevent further transmission of the virus. For people in the US, it's really not a plausible scenario that we are going to start to have to introduce these measures. I would have no fear or concern about getting on an airplane and going to affected countries if I had work to do there.

""More people die of diarrhea in a day than Ebola has killed in history.""

JB: Can you put the Ebola risk of death into the context of other diseases?

AR: A few thousand people in history have died of Ebola. Compared to AIDS or malaria or diarrhea, this affects far fewer people. More people die of diarrhea in a day than Ebola has killed in history.

JB: So if the risk is so remote, why do you think people are afraid?

AR: It's a highly lethal virus and sixty to seventy percent of the people who get it die. Being fearful is a reasonable response. But elevating that to a fear of getting Ebola by the average person is where it becomes irrational.
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Doctors share stories from the Ebola outbreak

"I knew it was going to be hard but I did not expect this extent of challenges, in terms of lack of equipment and gaps in infection prevention and control measures," says Mauricio. "However, after the initial shock, I started to see those difficulties as opportunities for improvement."

This is Mauricio Ferri, a doctor fighting Ebola in Sierra Leone as part of a World Health Organization deployment. He and another doctor shared their stories in an interesting piece that's up on the WHO's website here.

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What would happen if Ebola came to the US?

The world is currently experiencing the worst Ebola outbreak in history — it's in West Africa and has killed about 672 people as of July 23.

But what would happen if the disease came to America?

The scenario isn't as far-fetched as it might sound. With air travel as common as it is, borders don't mean all that much when it comes to disease. It's entirely possible — though by no means certain — that at some point, someone infected with Ebola could get on a plane and land in the United States. And then what?

As it turns out, experts say, we'd probably be able to contain an Ebola outbreak here pretty quickly. But it's worth exploring why that is. The outbreak in West Africa is so severe for a number of key reasons, including a lack of resources, inadequate infection control measures, and mistrust of health workers. The United States, by contrast, has far better public-health infrastructure. And that makes all the difference.

So here's a detailed look at how Ebola in America might go down:
1) The first 24 hours: identify the outbreak

The most likely way for Ebola to arrive in the United States would be an infected person flying from West Africa who has Ebola but doesn't even know it. Ebola can hide in a person's body from two days to three weeks before symptoms emerge. And people don't transmit Ebola during that incubation time — they're only contagious once they show symptoms.

"eARLY SYMPTOMS COULD BE CONFUSED WITH THE FLU or DIARRHEA"

Once an initial Ebola patient starts feeling sick, she'll probably seem at first like she has the flu or traveler's diarrhea. (Some of the more famous symptoms of Ebola, like bleeding from orifices, don't tend to come on until later. And bleeding doesn't even happen in about half of cases.)

Although the patient would now be contagious, that doesn't mean that it's exceptionally easy to catch. It's not. Ebola doesn't spread through the air. And it's harder to catch than things like the flu. You can't get it from a cough, sneeze, or just being on the same plane or in the same public space. The only way to get Ebola is to touch a patient's bodily fluids, like vomit, diarrhea, or blood.

Now would be when speed and public awareness plays a big role, no matter where in the world an Ebola patient is. The patient or someone around her will have to figure out: (1) This is something that looks like the flu or diarrhea and (2) This person was just in a country that has Ebola.

If people realize that this might be Ebola early on, they should be able to avoid getting infected by keeping away from the patient's bodily fluids. But if that doesn't cross their minds for a while, people will be more likely to get the virus by accident. In that first day of symptoms, every hour counts.
2) The next step: isolate the patient

In US hospitals, any suspected case of Ebola would be treated as a potential risk until tests come back negative. This means that standard procedures to protect other patients and health-care workers from the patient's bodily fluids would be put into place.

Because Ebola doesn't spread through the air, hospital workers wouldn't have to wear respirators or what you might think of as full Outbreak gear. However, they would protect their body and face from fluids that might splash on them, using things like gowns or full body suits, masks, gloves, and goggles.

Anything that touches the patient would be sterilized or disposed of in a safe manner. And if the patient dies, the body would be carefully handled so that it won't be a danger to anyone, either.

Better adherence to these safety guidelines is one reason why the virus wouldn't spread as quickly in the United States as it has in West Africa. For example, over there, some health-care workers have gotten infected, most likely because the rules weren't followed as closely. And there's actually a reason for that — people who are supposed to wear protective suits in 100°F weather will get extremely hot and might cut corners, says Michael Osterholm, of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. But US hospitals are more climate controlled, he says, and even that small difference makes a breach less likely.
3) Track down other potential patients

Detective work is a major part of controlling a disease like Ebola. Experts would interview the patient, her relatives, and other potential close contacts to monitor them and make sure that they don't spread the disease to others.

Officials will then suggest various options for these people, depending on the level of risk, including watching and waiting, isolation at home, and testing for infection.

Tracking down contacts has been especially problematic in West Africa in ways that unlikely to happen in the US. An editorial in the major medical journal The Lancet says "The geographical spread of cases and movement of people in and between the three countries presents a huge challenge in tracing those who might be infected." And the World Health Organization says that "low coverage of contact tracing" is one key problem it uncovered in a recent assessment the Ebola response in Liberia.
4) Keep patients in hospital until they're not a threat

It's important to remember that about 40 percent of the patients in this Ebola outbreak have survived. There's no specific pill or shot that will make an Ebola infection go away, but doctors can try to make the patient comfortable, give IV fluids, and treat symptoms.

To prevent Ebola from spreading, health authorities wouldn't release a patient from the hospital until it's clear that she won't be a danger to others.

This might seem intuitive, but it hasn't always happened in West Africa. For example, the BBC reports that there are several missing patients in Sierra Leone — where some people don't trust that medical care will help them. That, obviously, increases the odds that the outbreak will spread.
The best case scenario and the worst case scenario

To sum up, the best case scenario is that someone coming back from, say, Guinea, realizes that she might possibly have Ebola as soon as she starts feeling sick. Everyone makes sure not to touch her vomit or diarrhea or other fluids. And the outbreak ends with just one patient.

The worst case scenario is that this person is ill for days and in contact with a whole lot of people before anyone realizes that something unusual is going on and brings her to a hospital. But it's still unlikely that Ebola will get farther than a local problem in one city or town. Even in the worst case scenario, "I don't think we’ll have a serious public health threat in any of the developed countries," Osterholm says.

For more on the basics of the Ebola outbreak, check out my previous story Ebola: what you need to know.
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T

op Ebola doctor in Sierra Leone dies of Ebola

Very sad news: #BBC's reporter in Freetown just confirmed that doctor leading the fight against #Ebola in Sierra Leone - Dr Khan - has died
— Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) July 29, 2014

Sheik Umar Khan was the top doctor fighting against Ebola in Sierra Leone. And he's one of several individual cases that have gotten extra media attention lately in an outbreak that has infected more than a thousand.

Liberian doctor Samuel Brisbane died of Ebola on July 26, according to the Associated Press.

And at least two Americans have caught Ebola in Liberia. They are Nancy Writebol and doctor Kent Brantly, who are receiving medical care, according to USA Today.

Subscribe to this StoryStream for more updates on the Ebola outbreak.
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Ebola: what you need to know

The deadliest Ebola outbreak in recorded history is happening right now. The outbreak is unprecedented both in infection numbers and in geographic scope. And so far, it's been a long battle that doesn't appear to be slowing down.

"The current outbreak has killed 672 people and infected about 1,200"

The Ebola virus has now hit four countries: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, and recently Nigeria, according to the country's ministry of health.

The virus — which starts off with flu-like symptoms and often ends with horrific hemorrhaging — has infected 1,201 people and killed an estimated 672 since this winter, according to the numbers on July 23 from the World Health Organization.

Ebola is both rare and very deadly. Since the first outbreak in 1976, Ebola viruses have infected thousands of people and killed roughly 60 percent of them. Symptoms can come on very quickly and kill fast:
Ebolav3

Each bar here represents a different Ebola outbreak. The data is what the CDC has on record. Not every case or death always gets officially recorded, so there is always some wiggle room in numbers like these. 2014 is estimate of the current outbreak as of July 23, 2014 from the WHO.

Journalist David Quammen put it well in a recent New York Times op-ed: "Ebola is more inimical to humans than perhaps any known virus on Earth, except rabies and HIV-1. And it does its damage much faster than either."

So why is Ebola doing so much damage right now? Here's a primer on what's going on.
Why is Ebola back in the news?

Ebola tends to come and go over time.

The viruses are constantly circulating in animals, most likely bats. Every once in a while, the disease spills over into humans, often when someone handles or eats undercooked or raw meat from a diseased ape, monkey, or bat. An outbreak can then happen for several months. And then it becomes quiet again.

Ebola can completely disappear from humans for years at a time. For example, there were zero recorded cases of Ebola in 2005 or 2006.

The current outbreak has been going on since late 2013 or early 2014 and has been getting extra attention in the news recently as several doctors have caught the disease, including a Liberian doctor (who died) and Sierra Leone's top Ebola doctor (who is undergoing treatment).
Where is the current Ebola outbreak?
Ebola_map

This map is up to date as of June 20, 2014. CDC/VSPB

The current outbreak started in Guinea sometime in late 2013 or early 2014. It has since spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia, including some major capital cities. And one infected patient traveled to Nigeria on a plane, according to the Nigerian Ministry of Health.
Why is this particular outbreak so deadly?

For starters, this outbreak concerns the most deadly of the five Ebola viruses, Zaire ebolavirus, which has killed 79 percent of the people it has infected in previous outbreaks. (The virus is called that after the formerly named Zaire, which, along with Sudan, experienced the first Ebola outbreak back in 1976.)
Ebola_virus_species_death_rates

These death rates were calculated by adding up the records of cases and deaths from all known outbreaks. Individual outbreaks can vary, and Zaire ebolavirus is often cited as having death rates up to 90 percent. Data in this chart doesn't include the most recent 2013-2014 outbreak.

There are also social and political factors contributing to the current disaster. Because this is the first major Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many of the region's health workers didn't have experience or training in how to protect themselves or care for patients with this disease.

What's more, an NPR story suggests that people in these countries tend to travel more than those in Central Africa (where outbreaks usually occur). That may have helped the virus disperse geographically, and it made it difficult to track down people who might be infected.

Meanwhile, as an editorial in the medical journal Lancet noted, social stigmas and a lack of awareness may lead people to not seek medical care (or even avoid it). Another often-cited problem is that some people have had direct contact with victims' dead bodies during funerals and preparations for burial, which can spread the disease.

"In many ways, how well a country dealS with Ebola comes down to basic health care and public education"

Some people are afraid that medical workers are causing Ebola, and workers "have been threatened with knives, stones and machetes, their vehicles sometimes surrounded by hostile mobs," according to the New York Times.

The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders has noted 12 villages in Guinea that might have Ebola but aren't safe for workers. In Sierra Leone, a protest against a clinic led to the police using tear gas. And a World Health Organization assessment in Liberia noted problems with tracing patients' contacts with other people, "persisting denial and resistance in the community," and issues with "inadequate" measures used to prevent and control infections, weak data management, and "weak leadership and coordination," according to a statement released on July 19.

In many ways, how well a country can deal with an Ebola outbreak comes down to basic health-care practices and public education. With enough resources poured into the effort, people should be able to contain this outbreak. So far, however, these countries are really struggling.
Does Ebola really make people bleed from their eyes?

Yes. Bleeding from orifices is one of the more unusual and memorable symptoms of viral hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola. In later stages of the disease, some people bleed from the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and rectum. They may also bleed from puncture sites if they've had an IV.

External bleeding can be one of the main symptoms that can help people realize they're dealing with a case of Ebola, since other signs — first fevers and headache, then vomiting and diarrhea — can be caused by any number of illnesses. Internal bleeding can happen, as well.

But it doesn't always happen. For example, this study of a 1995 outbreak in found external bleeding in 41 percent of cases. And bleeding didn't correlate with who survived and who didn't.

What actually kills people is shock from multiple organ failure, including problems with the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.

Symptoms come on abruptly after an incubation period of 2 to 21 days. And people generally die between day 6 and 16 of the illness.
Why is Ebola so deadly?

One of the main things that seems to make Ebola viruses especially deadly is that they seem to be able to evade much of the human immune system. Among other problems, white blood cells from the immune system are often seen to die off in patients. And if the body can't fight fully back, the virus can just keep taking over.

Scientists are still figuring out exactly how this happens, and they have several promising leads. One is that the virus is making proteins that act as decoys, interfering with the body's ability to fight back.
How hard is it to catch Ebola?

Ebola is relatively hard to catch compared to some other viruses like measles, SARS, or the flu. It's not spreadable through the air, so someone won't get it from someone else coughing or sneezing.

In order to contract Ebola, someone must touch the blood or bodily fluids (including sweat, urine, and semen) of a person or animal who's infected (alive or dead). People can also catch it through indirect contact with victims' fluids, such as via bedding or medical equipment.

People generally aren't infectious until they get sick.

Ebola's limited transmission ability is one of the main reasons why outbreaks can often be stopped within weeks or months. What it takes is public education and good health-care hygiene like isolating patients, sterilization procedures, and the use of gloves, masks, and other protective gear.
481845187

A view of gloves and boots used by medical staff, drying in the sun, at a center for victims of the Ebola virus in Guinea. AFP/Getty Images
What are the chances of Ebola spreading to the US?

The Ebola viruses known today don't spread from person-to-person well enough to have much risk of causing a wide pandemic across several continents. The risk of Ebola coming to the US is still very low.

And if a case did appear in the USA, it "would not pose a major public health risk" Michael Osterholm, biosecurity expert and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota told USA Today. Why? Because it would be quickly tracked down and controlled.
How do you treat Ebola?

Patients are treated for symptoms, including IV fluids for dehydration. It's important to remember that some people do survive an Ebola infection.

Hopefully, in the future there will be more options. For example, researchers are working to find drugs, including a recent $50 million push at the National Institutes of Health. And scientists are working on vaccines, including looking into ones that might be able to help wild chimpanzees, which are also susceptible to the disease.
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Ebola outbreak worsens, spreads to Nigeria

The deadliest Ebola outbreak in recorded history is happening right now. And now the Liberian government has confirmed that a senior doctor working to fight the disease, Samuel Brisbane, has died, the Associated Press reports. That makes him the first Liberian doctor to die of Ebola in the current outbreak.

In addition, an American doctor has been infected. Kent Brantly, a 33-year-old working for American aid organization Samaritan's Purse, has been treated and is in stable condition, according to USA Today.

This news comes just days after an announcement that the top Ebola doctor in Sierra Leone, Sheik Umar Khan, had been infected.

Brisbane's death is an unfortunate blow in a long battle that doesn't look like it's slowing down.

"The current outbreak has killed 672 people and infected about 1,200"

Liberia is one of several countries battling the current outbreak, which is unprecedented both in the number of cases and in its geographic scope. It's now hit four countries: Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia have been joined by Nigeria, which this week saw its first case, after an infected Liberian man flew to the Nigerian city of Lagos, which is also Africa's largest city. There are also fears the disease has spread to the country of Togo, where that man's flight had a stopover.

And the virus — which starts off with flu-like symptoms and often ends with horrific hemorrhaging — had as of July 23 infected 1,201 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, and killed an estimated 672 since this winter, according to the numbers from the World Health Organization.

Ebola is both rare and very deadly. Since the first outbreak in 1976, Ebola viruses have infected thousands of people and killed about one-third of them. Symptoms can come on very quickly and kill fast:
Ebola_cases

Each bar here represents a different Ebola outbreak. This data is what the CDC has on record. Not every case or death always gets officially recorded, so there is always some wiggle room in numbers like these. 2014 is estimate of the current outbreak as of July 23, 2014 from the WHO.

Journalist David Quammen put it well in a recent New York Times op-ed: "Ebola is more inimical to humans than perhaps any known virus on Earth, except rabies and HIV-1. And it does its damage much faster than either."

So why is Ebola doing so much damage right now? Here's a primer on what's going on.
Why is Ebola back in the news?

Ebola tends to come and go over time.

The viruses are constantly circulating in animals, most likely bats. Every once in a while, the disease spills over into humans, often when someone handles or eats undercooked or raw meat from a diseased ape, monkey, or bat. An outbreak can then happen for several months. And then it becomes quiet again.

Ebola can completely disappear from humans for years at a time. For example, there were zero recorded cases of Ebola in 2005 or 2006.
Where is the current Ebola outbreak?
Ebola_map

This map is up to date as of June 20, 2014. CDC/VSPB

The current outbreak started in Guinea sometime in late 2013 or early 2014. It has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, including some major capital cities. It's the first time Ebola has ever reached a state capital.
Why is this particular outbreak so deadly?

First, this outbreak concerns the most deadly of the five Ebola viruses, Zaire ebolavirus, which has killed 79 percent of the people it has infected. (The virus is called that after the formerly named Zaire, which, along with Sudan, experienced the first Ebola outbreak back in 1976.)
Ebola_virus_species_death_rates

These death rates were calculated by adding up the records of cases and deaths from all known outbreaks. Individual outbreaks can vary, and Zaire ebolavirus is often cited as having death rates up to 90 percent. Data in this chart doesn't include the most recent 2013-2014 outbreak.


There are also social and political factors contributing to the current disaster. Because this is the first major Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many of the region's health workers didn't have experience or training in how to protect themselves or care for patients with this disease.

What's more, an NPR story suggests that people in these countries tend to travel more than those in Central Africa (where outbreaks usually occur). That may have helped the virus disperse geographically, and it made it difficult to track down people who might be infected.

"MANY OF WEST AFRICA'S HEALTH WORKERS DIDN'T HAVE TRAINING DEALING WITH EBOLA"

Meanwhile, as an editorial in the medical journal Lancet noted, social stigmas and a lack of awareness may lead people to not seek medical care (or even avoid it). Another often-cited problem is that some people have had direct contact with victims' dead bodies during funerals and preparations for burial, which can spread the disease.

A World Health Organization assessment in Liberia noted problems with tracing patients' contacts with other people, "persisting denial and resistance in the community," and issues with "inadequate" measures used to prevent and control infections, weak data management, and "weak leadership and coordination," according to a statement released on July 19.

On June 23, the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders sent out a distress call. As the only aid organization treating people with Ebola, the group said it was "overwhelmed," that the epidemic was out of control, and that it couldn't send workers to new outbreak sites without getting more resources.

In many ways, how well a country can deal with an Ebola outbreak comes down to basic health-care practices and public education. With enough resources poured into the effort, people should be able to contain this outbreak. So far, however, these countries are struggling.
Does Ebola really make people bleed from their eyes?

Yes. Bleeding from orifices is one of the more unusual and memorable symptoms of viral hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola. In later stages of the disease, some people bleed from the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and rectum. They may also bleed from puncture sites if they've had an IV.

External bleeding can be one of the main symptoms that can help people realize they're dealing with a case of Ebola, since other signs — first fevers and headache, then vomiting and diarrhea — can be caused by any number of illnesses. Internal bleeding can happen, as well.

But it doesn't always happen. For example, this study of a 1995 outbreak in found external bleeding in 41 percent of cases. And bleeding didn't correlate with who survived and who didn't.

What actually kills people is shock from multiple organ failure, including problems with the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.

Symptoms come on abruptly after an incubation period of 2 to 21 days. And people generally die between day 6 and 16 of the illness.
Why is Ebola so deadly?

One of the main things that seems to make Ebola viruses especially deadly is that they seem to be able to evade much of the human immune system. Among other problems, white blood cells from the immune system are often seen to die off in patients. And if the body can't fight fully back, the virus can just keep taking over.

Scientists are still figuring out exactly how this happens, and they have several promising leads. One is that the virus is making proteins that act as decoys, interfering with the body's ability to fight back.
How hard is it to catch Ebola?

Ebola is relatively hard to catch. Unlike measles or the flu, it's not spreadable over the air through casual contact.

In order to get Ebola, someone must touch the blood or bodily fluids (including sweat, urine, and semen) of a person or animal who's infected (alive or dead). People can also catch it through indirect contact with victims' fluids, such as via bedding or medical equipment.

People generally aren't infectious until they get sick.

This limited transmission ability is one of the main reasons why Ebola outbreaks can often be stopped within weeks or months. What it takes is public education and good health-care hygiene like patient isolation, sterilization procedures, and the use of gloves and masks.
481845187

A view of gloves and boots used by medical staff, drying in the sun, at a center for victims of the Ebola virus in Guinea. AFP/Getty Images
What are the chances of Ebola spreading to the US?

The Ebola viruses known today don't spread from person-to-person well enough to have much risk of causing a wide pandemic across several continents. The risk of Ebola coming to the US is very low.
How do you treat Ebola?

Patients are treated for symptoms, including IV fluids for dehydration. It's important to remember that some people do survive an Ebola infection.

Hopefully, in the future there will be more options. For example, researchers are working to find drugs, including a recent $50 million push at the National Institutes of Health. And scientists are working on vaccines, including looking into ones that might be able to help wild chimpanzees, which are also susceptible to the disease.

Updated. This article was updated on July 27 to include news on Brisbane's death and Brantly contracting the virus. It was also corrected on July 28 — originally, Brantly's name was listed as Keith, not Kent, as a result of an update written by Danielle Kurtzleben. On July 28, updated the first chart with newest case count numbers.
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Ebola's worst outbreak ever is happening right now

The deadliest Ebola outbreak in recorded history is happening right now. The outbreak is unprecedented both in the number of cases and in its geographic scope. And so far, it doesn't look like it's slowing down.

The outbreak has now hit three countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. And the virus — which starts off with flu-like symptoms and often ends with horrific hemorrhaging — has infected about 600 people and killed an estimated 367 since this winter, according to the numbers on June 26 from the World Health Organization.

On June 23, the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders sent out a distress call. As the only aid organization treating people with Ebola, the group said it was "overwhelmed," that the epidemic was out of control, and that it couldn't send workers to new outbreak sites without getting more resources.

Ebola is both rare and very deadly. Since the first outbreak in 1976, Ebola viruses have infected roughly 2,400 people and killed about one-third of them. Symptoms can come on very quickly and kill fast:
Ebola_outbreaks

Each bar here represents a different Ebola outbreak. This data is what the CDC has on record. Not every case or death always gets officially recorded, so there is always some wiggle room in numbers like these. 2014 is estimate of the current outbreak as of June 24, 2014 from the WHO.

Journalist David Quammen put it well in a recent New York Times op-ed: "Ebola is more inimical to humans than perhaps any known virus on Earth, except rabies and HIV-1. And it does its damage much faster than either."

So why is Ebola doing so much damage right now? Here's a primer on what's going on.
Why is Ebola back in the news?

Ebola tends to come and go over time.

"Every now and again, the disease spills over from animals to humAns"

The viruses are constantly circulating in animals, most likely bats. Every once in a while, the disease spills over into humans, often when someone handles or eats undercooked or raw meat from a diseased ape, monkey, or bat. An outbreak can then happen for several months. And then it becomes quiet, again.

Ebola can completely disappear from humans for years at a time. For example, there were zero recorded cases of Ebola in 2005 or 2006.
Where is the current Ebola outbreak?
Ebola_map

This map is up to date as of June 20, 2014. CDC/VSPB

This outbreak started in Guinea sometime in late 2013 or early 2014. (The majority of cases have been in that country.) It has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia, including some major capital cities. It's the first time Ebola has ever reached a state capital.
Why is this particular outbreak so deadly?

First, this outbreak concerns the most deadly of the five Ebola viruses — Zaire ebolavirus, which has killed 79 percent of the people it has infected. (The virus is called that after the formerly named Zaire, which, along with Sudan, experienced the first Ebola outbreak back in 1976.)
Ebola_virus_species_death_rates

These death rates were calculated by adding up the records of cases and deaths from all known outbreaks. Individual outbreaks can vary, and Zaire ebolavirus is often cited as having death rates up to 90 percent. Data in this chart doesn't include the most recent 2013-2014 outbreak.


There are also social and political factors contributing to the current disaster. Because this is the first major Ebola outbreak in West Africa, many of the region's health workers didn't have experience or training in how to protect themselves or care for patients with this disease.

What's more, an NPR story suggests that people in these countries tend to travel more than those in Central Africa (where outbreaks usually occur). That may have helped the virus disperse geographically, and it made it difficult to track down people who might be infected.

"MANY OF WEST AFRICA'S HEALTH WORKERS DIDN'T HAVE TRAINING DEALING WITH EBOLA"

Meanwhile, as an editorial in the medical journal Lancet noted, social stigmas and a lack of awareness may be preventing people from seeking medical care (or even actively avoiding it). Another often-cited problem is that some people have had direct contact with victims' dead bodies during funerals and preparations for burial, which can spread the disease.

In many ways, how well a country can deal with an Ebola outbreak comes down to basic health-care practices and public education. With enough resources poured into the effort, people should be able to contain this outbreak. So far, however, these countries are struggling.
Does Ebola really make people bleed from their eyes?

Yes. Bleeding from orifices is one of the more unusual and memorable symptoms of viral hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola. In later stages of the disease, some people bleed from the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and rectum. They may also bleed from puncture sites if they've had an IV.

External bleeding can be one of the main symptoms that can help people realize they're dealing with a case of Ebola, since other signs — first fevers and headache, then vomiting and diarrhea — can be caused by any number of illnesses. Internal bleeding can happen, as well.

But it doesn't always happen. For example, this study of a 1995 outbreak in found external bleeding in 41 percent of cases. And bleeding didn't correlate with who survived and who didn't.

What actually kills people is shock from multiple organ failure, including problems with the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.

Symptoms come on abruptly after an incubation period of 2 to 21 days. And people generally die between day 6 and 16 of the illness.
Why is Ebola so deadly?

One of the main things that seems to make Ebola viruses especially deadly is that they seem to be able to evade much of the human immune system. Among other problems, white blood cells from the immune system are often seen to die off in patients. And if the body can't fight fully back, the virus can just keep taking over.

Scientists are still figuring out exactly how this happens, and they have several promising leads. One is that the virus is making proteins that act as decoys, interfering with the body's ability to fight back.
How hard is it to catch Ebola?

Ebola is relatively hard to catch. Unlike measles or the flu, it's not spreadable over the air through casual contact.

In order to get Ebola, someone must touch the blood or bodily fluids (including sweat, urine, and semen) of a person or animal who's infected (alive or dead). People can also catch it through indirect contact with victims' fluids, such as via bedding or medical equipment.

People generally aren't infectious until they get sick.

This limited transmission ability is one of the main reasons why Ebola outbreaks can often be stopped within weeks or months. What it takes is public education and good health-care hygiene like patient isolation, sterilization procedures, and the use of gloves and masks.
481845187

A view of gloves and boots used by medical staff, drying in the sun, at a center for victims of the Ebola virus in Guinea. AFP/Getty Images
What are the chances of Ebola spreading to the US?

The ebola viruses known today don't spread from person-to-person well enough to have much risk of causing a wide pandemic across several continents. The risk of Ebola coming to the US is very low.
How do you treat Ebola?

Patients are treated for symptoms, including IV fluids for dehydration. It's important to remember that some people do survive an Ebola infection.

Hopefully, in the future there will be more options. For example, researchers are working to find drugs, including a recent $50 million push at the National Institutes of Health. And scientists are working on vaccines, including looking into ones that might be able to help wild chimpanzees, which are also susceptible to the disease.

Update: Incorporated the newest case counts from the WHO on June 26.
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3 months ago
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Imagine surviving Ebola only to be shunned

The Ebola virus, which is resurgent in West Africa, is almost always fatal. At least 145 people have died in the recent outbreak, mostly in Guinea. But a lucky few survive — only to be shunned upon their recovery by a society that refuses to believe they're no longer contagious.

"Thanks be to God, I am cured. But now I have a new disease: the stigmatization that I am a victim of," a Guinean doctor who survived Ebola told The Associated Press. "This disease is worse than the fever." The doctor refused to give his name "for fear of further problems the publicity would cause him and his family."

Terror of the disease — and confusion about how to protect against it — can manifest itself in more dangerous ways than ostracization. In Liberia, homes of some of the infected have been attacked, and in Guinea, Doctors Without Borders had to temporarily abandon a clinic that was under threat.

Health workers are trying to reduce the stigma against Ebola survivors through their own example. Corinne Benazech, a representative in Guinea for Doctors Without Borders in Guinea, told the AP that "The patient never leaves alone," and health workers make a show of shaking hands with survivors as they leave the isolation ward. The country's minister of health also awards patients a certificate stating that they are no longer contagious. The one exception is a male patient's semen, where the virus can linger even after recovery, so men who survive Ebola are given a three-month supply of condoms.

Read more at the Associated Press.
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9 updates to this stream since July 29, 2014

better avoid leongsam for a while

or is it samleong road?????????

many afro budget travellers.

Properly cooking meat and wearing protective clothing when handling meat may also be helpful, as is wearing protective clothing and washing hands when around a person who has the disease.

Click to expand...

Another problem created by meat eaters... knn..don't eat meat can die?' oops...actually.. eat meat already can die... too bad.

A fatal epidemic every once in a while is a good thing. It clears out the old and creates space for the new.

Knn boss sam never censor the kan si lang long article.

This is the end. The end my friend.

Leongsam said:

A fatal epidemic every once in a while is a good thing. It clears out the old and creates space for the new.

Click to expand...

If we are very very very lucky, ground zero for Ebola will be at the Istana and smear of shit on sole of shoe LKY house.
Maybe one of the daily transfusion he need to remain from becoming a rotting corpse complete the process of him becoming a rotting corpse.
In which case, that corpse should not be dragged out and dangled under lamp post for sake of public hygiene.




Hang those PAP maggots cockroaches with piano wires from lamp posts to make them dance before it is too late and we have no more CPF to get back.
BBQ those PAP maggots cockroaches before it is too late and we have no more CPF to get back.
Cut a few more arseholes into those PAP maggots cockroaches to let out their shit before it is too late and we have no more CPF to get back.
Make those PAP maggots cockroaches eat joss sticks and candle wax before it is too late and we have no more CPF to get back.

very scary but pap ministers are keeping quiet and their aim is to protect SIA rice bowl

tonychat said:

Another problem created by meat eaters... knn..don't eat meat can die?' oops...actually.. eat meat already can die... too bad.

Click to expand...

Dont be stupid. Going near retarded JHK like you die even faster :oIo:

tonychat said:

Another problem created by meat eaters... knn..don't eat meat can die?' oops...actually.. eat meat already can die... too bad.

Click to expand...

You might b happy to read dis...frm Wikipedia...

Bushmeat being prepared for cooking in Ghana, 2013. Human consumption of equatorial animals in Africa in the form of bushmeat has been linked to the transmission of diseases to people, including Ebola.[SUP][10][/SUP]

Microsoft said:

You might b happy to read dis...frm Wikipedia...

Bushmeat being prepared for cooking in Ghana, 2013. Human consumption of equatorial animals in Africa in the form of bushmeat has been linked to the transmission of diseases to people, including Ebola.[SUP][10][/SUP]

Click to expand...

Well, you should know by now that i am always right..

i am kind of used to it now.

KNNBXCB said:

Dont be stupid. Going near retarded JHK like you die even faster :oIo:

Click to expand...

you level of understanding is not there yet..pls keep on eating meat and die faster..it will be better for the world.

tonychat said:

you level of understanding is not there yet..pls keep on eating meat and die faster..it will be better for the world.

Click to expand...

Its hard for a retarded JHK to understand.

If the virus spreads, a global depression could result. people will die. transnational flights and tourism will be affected. businesses will fail.

SockPuppet said:

If the virus spreads, a global depression could result. people will die. transnational flights and tourism will be affected. businesses will fail.

Click to expand...

Then more people become vegetarian and let those meat eaters perish... Which is a good thing.