Question: many people want to know how Ebola is treated and whether it will come to the uk, but what actually is Ebola to begin with

David Foley answered on 18 Nov 2014:

Ebola is a diseased caused by a virus – the Ebola virus. It was first documented in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, one in Nzara, Sudan, and the other in a village by the Ebola River in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. This is how the disease got its name.

It causes a severe, often fatal haemorrhagic (bleeding) fever in humans who pick it up initally from an as yet unknown animal. Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.

The average fatality rate is around 50% but can range from 25% to 90% depending on the treatment given. The standard of care is to keep the subject hydrated and isolated from the remaining population to prevent the spread of the disease. Controlling the spread is critical – Ebola rapidly dies out if it can be contained, as it is not highly infectious and tends to incapacitate it’s hosts within 21 days.

There is as yet no licensed treatment proven to neutralise the virus but a range of blood, immunological and drug therapies are under development. There are also currently no licensed Ebola vaccines but two potential candidates are undergoing evaluation.