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You've probably heard all over the news recently that there is an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa and have no idea what is going on or where on earth Guinea is.

First let's put the location into context - Guinea is in West Africa, it's capital is Conkary, they officially speak French and there's about 10 million people there.

source

So know that you know where it's happening, let's talk about Ebola...

Some of you might instantly be thinking of that terrible Dustin Hoffman movie where a monkey gets let loose and everyone gets infected...

or maybe that movie "28 Days Later" where everyone turns into a zombie...

Let me put you at ease, this is not the start of the zombie apocalypse.

Ebola is a Filoviridae that is closely related to the Marbug virus and causes severe haemorrhagic fever. It was first recognised in 1976 and so far no reservoir has been discovered. There is a 90% fatality rate.

What are the symptoms? Basically it starts with sudden onset of fever, maculopapular (flat and red) rash, malaise (feeling blergh), myalgia (sore muscles), followed by pharyngitis (sore throat), vomiting (puking), diarrhoea (3 or more bowel movements in one day) and if not treated progresses into severe diathesis (abnormal bleeding from everywhere), hepatic (liver) damage, renal (kidney) failure and death.

It is spread person-to-person by contact with body fluids - blood, semen, saliva etc and has a 2-21 day incubation period. Spread of the virus is preventable through isolation and the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), especially for those healthcare workers looking after the patient and any lab staff working with infected samples.

There is no specific drug for the virus; treatment is based upon the symptoms - replacing fluids, electrolytes, pain management etc. There is no vaccine available.

So there you go, now you know all about Ebola. Always feel free to ask me questions about infectious diseases - my twitter handle is @catanita

References:
Ebola virus disease, WHO fact sheet no. 103, available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/ (accessed 4/4/14)
Heymann, DL (editor), Control of Communicable Diseases Manual, 19th Edition, American Public Health Assoc. 2008