In the news--Ebola kills people in Uganda

Currently 16 people have died (and 38 people are ill) in western Uganda during the month of July 2012.  The World Health Organization (WHO) staff have identified the cause of death as Ebola.  What is Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever? 

The Ebola virus first became known in 1976 when 280 people (out of 318 who became ill) died.  These people lived on the banks of the Ebola River. Since that time, the Ebola virus has caused illness and death, then seems to disappear.  But it reoccurs and again, causes illness and death. 

There is much we do not know about Ebola.  What the experts do know is this:  Ebola is caused by a virus (Filoviridae) It spreads between people through blood and body fluids of people infected and sick from the virus. There are four strains of the virus and the illness kills between 50 to 90% of the people who become infected.  (The different virus strains have different mortality rates.)  Symptoms begin with 2 to 21 days of being infected:  fever, weakness, pain in muscles, joints and abdomen, headache, sore throat, nausea, exhaustion, then profuse bleeding within the body tissues (including the eyes) as well as externally. 

Treatment for Ebola is supportive care of the infected person.  No vaccine has been developed. The numbers of people infected and dying are relatively small (usually in the hundreds during outbreaks).  So far all outbreaks of Ebola has been confined to the African continent.  But Ebola is a scary infectious disease.  According to the news story, the current epidemic has sent Ugandan people fleeing their homes and communities to escape the virus.  Any travelers contemplating travel to Uganda (or anywhere outside the US), should check the CDC website for travel advisories at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list.htm  For more information on the Ebola outbreak and how travelers can protect themselves, see http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/outbreak-notice/ebola-uganda-2012.htm