Tragically, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda have reported the deaths of at least 80 individuals, including three healthcare workers, due to a rare and virulent virus strain. Additionally, hundreds more have been afflicted with the disease.
Concerns abound over the potential for the virus to spread further, prompting the implementation of rigorous containment measures in the region.
Here’s what you need to know about the virus and its mode of transmission.
The disease in question is triggered by a cluster of viruses known collectively as Ebola.
According to the World Health Organization, three specific viruses are notorious for sparking significant outbreaks: the Ebola virus, the Sudan virus, and the Bundibugyo virus.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which is rare and has been responsible for only two previously reported outbreaks.
Ebola was first identified in 1976, and is named, along with one of the viruses that cause it, after the Ebola River in what is now the DRC. The viruses that cause it are native to sub-Saharan Africa.
How is Ebola disease spread?
A family of fruit bats is believed to be the natural hosts of the viruses that cause Ebola, and other animals like apes and monkeys can also be infected, according to the WHO.
People can be infected by these animals, and the viruses can spread from person to person through contact with the body fluids like blood, faeces, semen, or vomit of an infected person, or surfaces that have been contaminated by body fluids.
The Bundibugyo virus, which health authorities say is responsible for the outbreak, is rare and different from the Ebola Zaire strain that has been dominant in all of Congo’s past 17 outbreaks except one.
The virus was first detected in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that killed 37 people out of 149 cases.
The second time was in 2012 in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.
Symptoms appear from two days to three weeks after exposure, though they usually emerge within about a week, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Illnesses begin with flu-like symptoms, including fever, aches, fatigue, and a sore throat.
Later, patients can experience gastrointestinal problems, rashes, seizures and bleeding.
The average fatality rate for Ebola disease varies on which virus causes it.
The Ebola virus strain has a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent, compared to 50 per cent for the Sudan virus strain and about 30 per cent for the Bundibugyo virus strain, according to the US Centres for Disease Control.
The 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola crisis resulted in over 11,000 deaths from more than 28,000 cases.
Are there vaccines or treatments available?
Currently, the only approved vaccine or treatment applies to the strain of the disease caused by the Ebola virus.
Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, as in this outbreak, has no vaccine.
Authorities focus on containment, mass testing, and quarantining to try to stop the spread.
Is Ebola in Australia?
There has never been an officially diagnosed case of Ebola disease in Australia.
This even applies to people seeking to enter the country.
The World Health Organisation has declared the Ebola disease outbreak a public health emergency of international concern
WHO said the outbreak doesn’t meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like COVID-19, and advised against the closure of international borders.
With Associated Press.
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