Ebola has been in Africa a lot longer than most people envisage. There have been previous incidents that only aftected a fraction of people. This is 2014, and so far it has infected 1, 700 and killed over 900.

Apart from how deadly the Ebola virus actually is, it turns out that we know very little about it.

1. What is Ebola?

Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is a disease of humans and other primates caused by an ebolavirus. Symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus, with a fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headaches.

Typically, vomiting, diarrhea and rash follow, along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. Around this time, affected people may begin to bleed both within the body and externally.

Ebola is a deadly disease with a fatality of up to 90-percent. As of August 6, 2014, the World Health Organization claimed that 932 people had died of Ebola so far in the summer of 2014.

2. Is this the First Ebola Outbreak?

No, Ebola first appeared in the year 1976 when two simultaneous outbreaks occurred; one in Sudan and the other in Democratic Republic of Congo. The outbreak in DRC was within proximity of Ebola River, giving the virus its name.

This outbreaks happens to be the worst in history. This very outbreak has a fatality rate of about 60 percent.

3. How come everybody is just hearing of Ebola?

There have been numerous outbreaks after that of 1976; one was in the year 1995 in DRC where the virus infected 317 patients and killing 245. Another low-level outbreak occurred in Gabon. In the year 2000, in Uganda 415 people were infected but task forces and the WHO helped contain and eventually eliminate the breakout but only after 224 deaths occurred.

The last outbreak of high causality was in 2007 in DRC where 247 were infected, killing 183 of the total number of people infected.

4. Is it possible that Ebola has infected people much further in the past?

Of course, it is likely that Ebola has infected people much further in the past. Some historians claim that Ebola was responsible for the Plague of Athens, which struck the Mediterranean during the Peloponnesian War in 430 B.C. According to the historian Thucydides, who himself contracted the disease but survived, the plague came to the sea-faring Athenian people from Africa. Evidence is circumstantial, but descriptions of the disease—including its prevalence among caregivers and symptoms like bleeding—do indicate that Ebola may have been the culprit.

5. If Ebola kills its victims fast, then why has it not burned itself yet?

Viruses that quickly kill their victims naturally fill us with terror, but these are hardly the most insidious. Death within a manner of days is scary, but it is a terribly ineffective way to spread a disease. Fast-acting viruses like Ebola have historically burned themselves out quickly and close to their original source, whereas viruses that manifest slowly, such as HIV/AIDS, have spread across the globe.

Scientists believe that the reason Ebola keeps managing to pop up is that the virus has found a reservoir in the bat population of central and western Africa, in the same way that bats have become the vector for rabies in other parts of the world. The fruit bats, which are asymptomatic, transmit the disease to animals like the duiker (a small antelope) and primates like chimpanzees and gorillas.

In more economically advantaged parts of the world, these creatures would quickly perish, and the story would be over. However, in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, there is brisk trade in “bush meat,” wild animals that are hunted and sold. Bush meat can be nearly any species, including bats, monkeys, and rats. It would have only taken a single infected animal being eaten to start the entire 2014 contagion.

6. How can I get infected?

Transmission Ebola can be transferred from animal to animal, from animal to human and from human to human.

The infection travels via fluid secretions (blood, urine, semen, mucus), usually orally or through broken skin. In many cases, contaminated victims’ vomit has been a primary catalyst for the virus to travel, or burial ceremonies where improper handling methods infected community members.

In Africa, contact with animals infected with the virus such as pigs, monkeys, bats, and porcupines inflicted humans.

Many healthcare and hospital workers have died from the disease through lack of knowledge or environmental exposure.

7. Does it help to take my bath with salt and water?

No it doesn’t. The whole salt and water rumor was created by a bored youth and it’s really unfortunate that it happened to spread around like wildfire. In fact, the rumor led to the death of 20 people who ingested too much salt.

8. What is the source of Ebola?

Studies throughout the decades have led researchers to believe that one of the greatest sources for Ebola is the fruit-eating bat. Three different bat species carry RNA sequences, proof that their bodies carry mutations from the Ebola virus. This suggests that these bats may have lived with the virus for a long time, and that they could be the source. The often wide range of area a single outbreak can cover also implies that the source could be a mammal that can travel great distances very quickly

9. How is Ebola related to bush meat?

. A proposed chain of events by many scientists is: bat droppings are eaten by terrestrial animals; the animals die, and then their carcasses are handled by a human. Keep in mind, not only is the human race at risk: approximately one third of gorillas in protected areas have perished from the virus in the last 15 years.

While Ebola thrives in living bodies, the virus has been found in the carcasses of apes that have been dead for several days.

10.How do I know if someone has Ebola?

Early symptoms of the virus do not look much different from the common flu, fever, or stomach viruses. Therefore, the disease usually is unreadable until there are multiple cases, which is why containment is difficult.

Ebola and Marburg viruses start to show symptoms after approximately five days after infection. Chills, sore throat, a typical-feeling fever, sore joints — all common symptoms that would not necessarily send a victim to the doctor.

Days later, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, body rashes and red eyes begin, and increase in severity. Many cases result in internal hemorrhaging or external bleeding from the mouth, nose, ears, and rectum.

The best way to be sure is to visit a Hospital where available tests can be carried out on the patient.

11.Is there a cure for Ebola?

While there is not a known cure, the Ebola virus can be mollified and often eliminated if discovered in a timely fashion. In 2012, groundbreaking scientific findings were published in Science Translational Magazine, claiming that two leukemia drugs showed signs of halting Ebola virus replication. Intensive care treatment is necessary, and many drug therapies are in the process of being validated. Further work on finding a definitive vaccine continues; in many cases, electrolyte and nutritional management have aided in rehabilitating infected patients.

Developing a cure or vaccine has not historically been a financially viable option for pharmaceutical companies, since there would be no profit in it.

Despite the lack of commercialization potential, the world’s governments have been taking the disease seriously for years, sinking millions of dollars into research on how to stop Ebola if it were to be used as a biological weapon. Some experimental vaccines have shown great promise, including one that completely prevented rhesus monkeys from becoming infected with the Zaire strain, the one responsible for the 2014 outbreak. This vaccine is so effective that it even cured four monkeys that had already been infected. However, interesting private industry in making this a reality for the masses is an altogether different hurdle.

There are many reasons why finding a cure for Ebola is quite an uphill battle. For starters, antiviral treatments are much harder to establish than antibacterial. The ebola virus develops rapidly and evolves at breakneck speed, which means that today’s vaccine could be obsolete tomorrow. At a research safety level categorized as “biosafety level 4″, the total-lockdown laboratory situation means that there are limited facilities for studying the virus and extremely delicate, time-consuming procedures.

Scientists have been working on mutations of the virus to create a safe strain, with the hopes of finding a vaccination.

12.How come American are better at containing the virus than Africans

According to epidemiologist Ian Lipkin of Columbia University, “Sustained outbreaks would not occur in the US because cultural factors in the developing world that spread Ebola—such as intimate contact while family and friends are caring for the sick and during the preparation of bodies for burial—aren’t common in the developed world. Health authorities would also rapidly identify and isolate infected individuals.”

A more likely, route of transmission is the African custom of washing corpses before burial

13.Is it safe to relate with an Ebola survivor?

Even after a clean blood test, though, Ebola can linger in strange ways, such as in the breast milk of lactating women. It also stays in semenfor up to three months, as blood-borne antibodies don’t reach the testicles, so men who recover from Ebola are told to practice safe sex with condoms. Seminal fluid taken from Ebola survisors contained the virus 61 days after their recovery.

Experts state that likelihood of Ebola spreading through sexual contact is minimal, particularly because those with high viral loads are in no condition to be amorous.

14.What should I do if I suspect I have come in contact with someone who has Ebola?

If you suspect you have come in contact with someone who has Ebola. You have a good chance of staying alive if you seek help from the right authorities. This is not the best time to call your pastor or run to your village.

Ebola is not a death sentence, infact you have a chance of surviving Ebola when you seek medical attention from the authorities.

Without good care, Ebola will kill you painfully. The good news is, the handling of reported Ebola cases in Nigeria is excellent. Ebola fatality rates in Nigeria are the lowest in the world right now.

Call 0800-EBOLA-HELP (0800-326524357) now.

15.Why is Ebola found in Only APC States?

We are Nigerians; we should be united especially at times like these. Everything does not have to be about politics.

Ebola is a serious threat to Nigeria as a nation. This is not the right time for anyone to start painting a picture that does not exist.

Ebola is a common enemy and we need all hands on deck for us to prevail.

What other questions do you have about Ebola? ask them in the comment section below

- See more at: http://giftedgreen.com/2014/blog/2014/09/01/15-questions-you-were-too-ashamed-to-ask-about-ebola/#sthash.KLq0jK4R.dpuf

Educating. *Thumbs up!

Quite informative...... Ignorance kills