20 Things to Know about the Ebola Outbreak
Original article from: Becker’s Hospital Review posted on August 7, 2014. By Lindsey Dunn
Ebola overview
1. Ebola, as it is commonly refereed to, is short for Ebola virus disease, a form of haemorrhagic fever, that causes severe illness and is often fatal.
2. Symptoms include fever, extreme weakness, muscle pain and sore throat, often with sudden onset. After these initial symptoms, infected individuals may suffer experience, vomiting, diarrhea, rash and bleeding
3. Ebola has a death rate of “up to 90 percent,” according to the World Health Organization. However, the rate varies by outbreak; averaging the death rate across all outbreaks since 1976 results in a death rate of 65 percent. Some virologists argue the rate is likely to be lower than that given that a number of those infected by the disease were likely never diagnosed.