Ebola outbreak in West Africa

Five new cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have been recorded in Guinea in the last 24 hours according to the World Health Organization. The outbreak, which began in Guinea but has spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone, has so far claimed 83 lives. A total of 127 clinically compatible cases of Ebola have been identified, with 35 confirmed in the laboratory using PCR. The tropical disease has mainly hit adults aged 15 to 59, with the fatality rate in Guinea at 65%. EVD leads to haemorrhagic fever, which causes muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea. In severe cases, it leads to organ failure and unstoppable bleeding. It can be transmitted from wild animals to humans, and between humans through direct contact with another’s blood, faeces or sweat. Unprotected handling of contaminated corpses or sexual contact can also lead to infection. Outbreaks of Ebola occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests. The WHO are not recommending any travel or trade restrictions applied to the affected area as the outbreak remains in a limited geographical area. Useful links: The World Health Organization Global Alert and Response: Ebola Virus disease AFP: Five new Ebola cases in Guinea in 24 hours BBC: Ebola outbreak in Guinea 'limited geographically' - WHO Ebola factsheet: (source http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/)

• The Ebola virus causes Ebola virus disease (EVD; formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever) in humans.
• EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%.
• Ebola first appeared in 1976 in 2 simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.
• EVD outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.
• Genus Ebolavirus is 1 of 3 members of the Filoviridae family (filovirus), along with genus Marburgvirus and genus Cuevavirus. Genus Ebolavirus comprises 5 distinct species.
• The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
• Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.
• No specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or animals.