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, sore throat, muscle pains, and headaches. Typically nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea follow, along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. At this point, some people begin to have bleeding problems.^[1]

The virus may be acquired upon contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected animal (commonly monkeys or fruit bats).^[1] Spread through the air has not been documented in the natural environment.^[2] Fruit bats are believed to carry and spread the virus without being affected. Once human infection occurs, the disease may spread between people as well. Male survivors may be able to transmit the disease via semen for nearly two months. In order to make the diagnosis, typically other diseases with similar symptoms such as malaria, cholera and other viral hemorrhagic fevers are first excluded. Blood samples may then be tested for viral antibodies, viral RNA, or the virus itself to confirm the diagnosis.^[1]

Prevention includes decreasing the spread of disease from infected monkeys and pigs to humans. This may be done by checking such 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 are wearing protective clothing and washing hands when around a person with the disease. Samples of bodily fluids and tissues from people with the disease should be handled with special caution.^[1]

There is no specific treatment for the disease; efforts to help persons who are infected include giving either oral rehydration therapy (slightly sweet and salty water to drink) or intravenous fluids.^[1] The disease has high mortality rate: often killing between 50% and 90% of those infected with the virus

A Nigerian nurse who treated a man with Ebola is now dead and five others are sick with one of the world’s most virulent diseases, authorities said Wednesday as the death toll rose to at least 932 people in four West African countries.

The growing number of cases in Lagos, a megacity of some 21 million people, comes as authorities acknowledge they did not treat Patrick Sawyer as an Ebola patient and isolate him for the first 24 hours after his arrival in Nigeria last month. Sawyer, a 40-year-old American of Liberian descent with a wife and three young daughters in Minnesota, was traveling on a business flight to Nigeria when he fell ill.

Ben Webster, a Red Cross disaster response manager in London, said it is “critically important” that people displaying symptoms are identified quickly.

“It’s impossible to say whether this specific situation could have been avoided, but there is certainly more likelihood of travelers coming from an Ebola-affected country in the region and authorities need to be aware, even if the infrastructure and situation is challenging.”

In Saudi Arabia officials say a man who was being tested for the Ebola virus has died. The 40-year-old returned on Sunday from Sierra Leone, where at least 286 people have died from Ebola, and was then hospitalized in Jiddah after showing symptoms of the viral hemorrhagic fever.

There have now been at least 1,711 cases of Ebola this year, which has no proven vaccine or treatment, according to new figures released Wednesday by the World Health Organization. More than 932 people have died in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria as of Aug. 4, WHO said. In announcing the new deaths, WHO noted in particular that “community resistance remains high” in Liberia. Many fearful family members are refusing to bring sick relatives to isolation centers, preferring to treat them at home and pray for their survival as no proven cure or treatment exists for Ebola.

The difficulties in quarantining sick people are complicating efforts to stop Ebola’s spread.

Fear of the unknown is what creates a culture of fear and prejudice surrounding a health crisis – much like outbreaks of other diseases we’ve seen in countries around the world.

It would be doing the medical community, who are working so diligently to find a solution — as well as the world at large — a disservice to let the same sort of ignorance and misinformation cloud the Ebola crisis.

The perception that this outbreak is an African problem is troubling. Many Americans have been vocal online about their belief that the U.S. should shut down its borders until the outbreak is under control and others have expressed their fear about people coming from that area of the world.

“There has even been noticeably fewer international flights to these countries, leading to lower revenues and financial inflows,” the World Bank said this week.

a multitude of independent voices to relay all kinds of misinformation about the virus on social media. It’s actions like these that are putting America in harm’s way.

Panic is what has caused many people in African villages to have limited access to health care workers who can help contain this outbreak.

We don’t want a panic to make Americans lose sight of what is important. Let’s keep using our technology and science to help find a cure for Ebola and continue to help our brothers and sisters in Africa.

This is why it’s more important than ever to make as much information about screening and outcomes as we can available to the American public.