The current Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa is the largest and most wide spread in History,
with over 21,000 known cases to date and counting.
Let's reveal some surprising facts about this deadly virus.
1.
The first known instance of Ebola was in 1976.
It appeared in Zaire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and killed 280 people.
2.
But the 1976 case may not be the first outbreak.
A study on infectious diseases suggested the first outbreak of Ebola may have occurred
around 430 B.C. in ancient Greece.
The writings of Thucydides, described a virulent disease that wiped out half of the city.
His description of the disease's symptoms is very similar to Ebola, including uncontrollable
bleeding.
3.
Ebola is named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is
60 miles away from the first ever case of the virus.
4.
In the current outbreak a handful of West African countries have been infected, and
9 non-African countries.
Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, Italy, the UK and the USA.
5.
Past Ebola outbreaks have had fatality rates of up to 90%.
But the fatality rate of the current outbreak in West Africa it 50%.
However outside of Africa, the fatality rate is much lower.
The current fatality rate in the United States and Europe is a significantly lower 20%.
Proving that where you're treated makes an enormous difference.
6.
Ebola is not airborne and therefore cannot, in its current form, be transmitted through
the air, via coughing or sneezing.
It also can't be transmitted through water.
The virus can only be transmitted through direct contact with the blood or body fluids
of an Ebola sufferer.
This makes Ebola surprisingly difficult to spread, when compared to more contagious diseases
such as Measles or Influenza.
7.
Because of this many disease specialists have said that Ebola poses no threat to wealthier
countries in Europe and North America because of their higher hygiene standards and better
disease containment capabilities.
8.
2014 is not the first time in history that Ebola has appeared in the United States.
In 1989, macaque monkeys in the primate unit of Hazelton Research Product's lab in Reston,
Virginia, began dying with Ebola like symptoms.
Four workers were exposed to the virus and the military and CDC were called in to eliminate
the monkeys and quarantine the humans.
But strangely it appeared to be a new strain of Ebola that was only lethal to primates.
The new strain did however display a frightening ability to go airborne for the first time.
9.
There is currently no tried and tested vaccine for Ebola but in September 2014, a clinical
trial of a new potential Ebola vaccine was able to protect monkeys against the virus
in 100% of cases.
The same vaccine has just begun a trial at Oxford University on humans, for the first
time ever.
If the trials are successful the company that manufactures the virus says it could have
2 million doses of the vaccine available this year.
10.
Several potential cures for the Ebola virus are also currently being developed and tested.
One of the most promising is called ZMapp.
It was given to seven Ebola patients, two of whom died.
Showing a reasonable success rate.
But the drug is difficult and time consuming to make.
And the limited supply has now been exhausted.
It will take several months to manufacture a new batch.
However seven other potential Ebola cures are currently undergoing clinical trials.
11.
There are five known strains of the Ebola virus.
These strains are called Zaire, Sudan, Taï Forest, Reston and Bundibugyo.
Named after the locations of each strain's patient zero.
A person who survives an Ebola infection is then immune to that particular strain but
is still susceptible to the other four strains.
12.
One of the biggest challenges facing the containment of the Ebola outbreak is misinformation and
distrust of health professionals in West Africa.
Many sufferers of Ebola don't seek medical care as they fear going into isolation and
being around other ebola patients.
This vastly increases the chance of the individual transmitting the virus to friends and family.
There is also a tradition in West Africa of washing dead bodies before burial.
This has vastly increased the rate of infection and is a significant issue in the current
outbreak.
Because Ebola can live on a patient's skin for several days after death.
Meaning you could get infected from simply touching the corpse of an Ebola victim then
touching your mouth or eyes.
13.
It is still not known where Ebola actually comes from, but evidence suggests that fruit
bats are the natural carriers of the disease.
Research suggests that the patient zero of the current outbreak was a 2-year-old in Guinea,
who had recently been playing in a bat tree when he contracted the disease.
Known as bushmeat, bats and other wild animals are frequently eaten by natives of Guinea
and bat soup is a delicacy in the region, which could also have contributed to the start
of the current Ebola outbreak.