Ebola

The Ebola virus originated along the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976. The virus is highly contagious, and spreads via contact with bodily fluids of infected individuals. Ebola enters through wounds, broken skin or any mucous membranes in an individual, such as in the eyes, nose or mouth.¹ Symptoms of Ebola include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, tiredness, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal or stomach pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.² Recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus include the 2014–2016 outbreak in West Africa, and the 2018 Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo outbreak. The West Africa outbreak was the largest in world history, with 28,610 cases and 11,308 fatalities in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Outbreaks in previous years had not exceeded 318 casualties in a region.³ In 2018, the Democratic Republic of the Congo entered its tenth Ebola outbreak since 1976.⁴