Ebola, previously known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a rare
and deadly disease caused by infection with one of the Ebola virus species. Ebola can cause disease in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).
Ebola is caused by infection with a virus of the family Filoviridae,
genus Ebolavirus. Ebola viruses are found in several African countries.
People get Ebola through direct contact (through broken skin or
mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth) with blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, and semen) of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola, objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with body fluids from a person who is sick with Ebola or the body of a person who has died from Ebola, infected fruit bats or primates (apes and monkeys), and possibly from contact with semen from a man who has recovered from Ebola (for example, by having oral, vaginal, or anal sex).
Ebola is not spread through the air, by water, or in general, by
food. However, in Africa, Ebola may be spread as a result of handling bush meat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats. There is no evidence that mosquitoes or other insects can transmit Ebola virus. Only a few species of mammals (e.g., humans, bats, monkeys, and apes) have shown the ability to become infected with and spread Ebola virus.
The symptoms of Ebola include, fever, severe headache, muscle
pain, weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal (stomach) pain, and unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising).
Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after
exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days.
Recovery from Ebola depends on good supportive clinical care
and the patient’s immune response. People who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years. Glossary
a. hemorrhagic : of, relating to, or producing hemorrhage.
b. primate : a mammal of an order that includes the lemurs, bush
babies, tarsiers, marmosets, monkeys, apes, and humans. They are distinguished by having hands, hand-like feet, and forward- facing eyes, and are typically agile tree-dwellers.
c. Filoviridae : a family of single-stranded RNA viruses that infect
vertebrates, that have a pleomorphic usually bacilliform or filamentous shape with a helical nucleocapsid and a lipoprotein envelope with glycoprotein projections, and that include the Ebola viruses and the Marburg virus.
d. genus : a class of things which have common characteristics and
which can be divided into subordinate kinds.
e. contaminate : make (something) impure by exposure to or
addition of a poisonous or polluting substance.
f. ape : a large primate that lacks a tail, including the gorilla,
chimpanzees, orang-utan, and gibbons.
g. bush meat : the meat of African wild animals as food.
h. severe : (of something bad or undesirable) very great; intense.
i. fatigue : extreme tiredness resulting from mental or physical
exertion or illness.
j. diarrhea : a condition in which faeces are discharged from the
Raising Mentally Strong Kids: How to Combine the Power of Neuroscience with Love and Logic to Grow Confident, Kind, Responsible, and Resilient Children and Young Adults
Dark Psychology & Manipulation: Discover How To Analyze People and Master Human Behaviour Using Emotional Influence Techniques, Body Language Secrets, Covert NLP, Speed Reading, and Hypnosis.