A brief history
Ebola first appeared in 1976 in Sudan, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has an extremely high mortality rate and at the time of posting is spreading like wildfire across several countries.
How Deadly Is It?
Depending on the strain of the virus it can have up to a 90% mortality rate. At the time of posting there is no known cure. It has an extremely high incubation period (up to 22 days) and an infected person can infect others for a period of up to 65 days (assuming that they survive that long)
Symptoms
As mentioned above, there is a 2-22 incubation period. After this there is a sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver functions, as well as both internal and external bleeding.
Strains
There are currently 6 strains:
- Zaire ebolavirus
- Sudan ebolavirus
- Reston ebolavirus
- Côte d'Ivoire ebolavirus
- Bundibugyo ebolavirus
- Guinea ebolavirus
Zaire ebolavirus is the second most deadly strain there is. It has an average mortality rate of 83%-90%. It is transmitted via body contact.
Sudan ebolavirus has a mortality rate of 53%. Not quite as bad but still is deadly. It is transmitted via body contact.
Reston ebolavirus does not affect humans but can infect non human primates by both body contact or air.
Côte d'Ivoire ebolavirus is spread by direct contact with infected meats but to date has not caused any deaths. It is transmitted via body contact.
Bundibugyo ebolavirus is the second least deadly strain having a 50% average mortality rate. It is transmitted via body contact.
Guinea ebolavirus is the deadly strain. It was discovered in 2012 and has an average 91.5% mortality rate. It is also airborne so it be transmitted either by body contact or in the air.
