What is Ebola? ! Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. ! EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%. ! The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. ! Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus. ! Ebola first appeared in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Then latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name. Transmission ! Ebola was introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals (fruit bats, monkeys, etc, found ill or dead). ! Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from: ! Direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people; ! Indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids (for examples through contact with soiled clothing or bed-linen from an infected person). ! Burial ceremonies in which mourners have direct contact with the body of the deceased person can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola. ! Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to 7 weeks after recovery from illness. ! Health-care workers have frequently been infected while treating patients with suspected or confirmed EVD. This has occurred through close contact with patients when infection control precautions are not strictly practiced. Where is it currently? ! Guinea ! Liberia ! Sierra Leone ! Nigeria
Information Source: WHO Website, August 6th
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Richard Kamwi, says there has been no Ebola hemorrhagic fever case in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and this includes the Democratic Republic of Congo. We are here Numbers 1711 reported cases and 932 deaths
This is the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported.
Source: World Health Organization www.who.int Facts It spreads through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. ! Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected, but patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early treatment. ! Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. No licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or animals. ! As the outbreak continues, nations and medical facilities are increasing their surveillance efforts to detect cases. This will lead to more reports of both confirmed and suspected cases (some Ebola symptoms are similar to common illnesses, including malaria. People with many other disease may be reported as suspected cases of Ebola).
Information People have been spreading rumors and incorrect information about Ebola outburst. Inform yourself! The virus has since spread to Nigeria via a passenger from Liberia who collapsed in the busy Lagos airport in late July and later died. Nigeria Now has more than 10 confirmed Ebola cases, its health minister said on Monday.
As the disease spreads, the weakness of West African healthcare systems has been exposed. Liberia, where the disease is spreading fastest, has only 51 qualified doctors while Sierra Leone has just 136, according to political risk research company DaMina Advisors. Chinese state media said on Sunday that Chinese disease control experts planned to depart to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help control the virus. A Chinese plane carrying protective suits, disinfectants, thermo-detectors and medicines arrived in Conakry on Monday, it said. Concerns Companies should educate their employees now about how Ebola spreads and how to prevent infection. What will happen if Ebola spreads into other parts of the West Africa Territories (WAT) or further afield? ! If Ebola spreads to other countries in West Africa, it is expected that local authorities and international support organizations will respond to prevent an outbreak. If proper infection control procedures are in place, cases will be isolated and the disease will not spread to other people. ! 13 August: WHO Director-General addresses UN missions - The speech referred to Ebola as a "a severe health crisis" which can be controlled by preventive efforts. The advise was to focus on "Standard measures, like early detection and isolation of cases, contact tracing and monitoring, and rigorous procedures for infection control", these measures "have stopped previous Ebola outbreaks and can do so again. Compiled by Serious about Health and Safety