Buzz
First identified in 1976, Ebola has unleashed devastating outbreaks across central Africa, especially in the Congo region. However, the 2014 outbreak has been particularly catastrophic, infecting over 1,700 people and claiming the lives of more than 900. What makes Ebola truly terrifying, aside from its overwhelming fatality rate, is the fact that so little is known about the virus itself.
2014. Epidemic Outbreak
By August 6, 2014, the World Health Organization reported that 932 individuals had perished from Ebola during that summer. While this might seem like a small number in a world of billions, the impact has been devastating for rural communities, which have been disproportionately affected.
On August 5, the first Nigerian casualty of the virus, a nurse from Lagos, died. This is especially alarming because Lagos, with its population of around 21 million, is Africa’s most densely populated city. Nigeria is struggling to contain the outbreak as more cases surface daily. The future remains uncertain as the death toll continues to rise.
By March 24, 2014, the Ministry of Health in Guinea reported dozens of Ebola cases, signaling the virus's spread. Within months, the outbreak crossed national borders, infecting neighboring Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast. In response, the CDC in the United States issued a travel advisory, urging caution when visiting these affected regions.
9. Arrival in the United States
At first, when the 2014 Ebola outbreak began making headlines, Western countries responded with unease, but not panic. After all, similar outbreaks had occurred sporadically for over three decades with minimal lasting impact. However, the situation changed when it was revealed that Dr. Kent Brantly, an American aid worker infected with the virus, would be flown back to the U.S. for treatment. The media seized on the story, amplifying the public's fear.
Dr. Kent Brantly, the 33-year-old American doctor infected with Ebola, was flown back from Liberia via air ambulance and arrived in the U.S. on August 2, 2014. He was immediately admitted to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, which had a specialized biocontainment patient care unit equipped with ultraviolet lighting and advanced air filtration systems to ensure safety.
If this still doesn't ease your concerns, experts argue that even if Ebola were to escape the confines of the hospital and spread through the general population, its impact would be minimal. Epidemiologist Ian Lipkin from Columbia University states, 'Sustained outbreaks would not occur in the US because cultural practices that facilitate the spread of Ebola in the developing world—such as close contact when caring for the sick or preparing bodies for burial—aren't common in developed countries. Health officials would also quickly identify and isolate those infected.'
8. The Discovery
The first confirmed outbreaks of Ebola occurred nearly simultaneously in 1976 in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Sudan. As people began dying from an unknown illness, William Close, the personal doctor to Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko, requested a team of experts from Belgium’s Institute of Tropical Medicine. The team focused their efforts on Yambuku, a village where the first known case, Mabalo Lokela, the headmaster of the village school, became infected and spread the virus rapidly. The Belgian researchers named the virus 'Ebola' after the nearby river, in order to avoid associating the disease with the village itself.
It's likely that Ebola has been affecting humans long before its official discovery. Some historians even speculate that the disease was responsible for the Plague of Athens, which devastated the Mediterranean region during the Peloponnesian War in 430 B.C. Thucydides, the historian who survived the plague after contracting it, claimed the disease arrived in Athens from Africa. Though the evidence is circumstantial, the symptoms described—including heavy bleeding and its spread among caregivers—suggest that Ebola may have been the cause.
7. Porton Down Laboratory Incident
While conspiracy theorists often fabricate stories about secret government labs where deadly pathogens are developed and terrifying creatures are created, this particular theory has a kernel of truth. The Centre for Applied Microbiology Research at Porton Down in England is one such facility where research on Ebola is conducted. This level-four safety category laboratory is equipped with a sterilizing shower system to decontaminate researchers before they leave and bulletproof glass to keep the virus securely contained. In the event of an accident, such as a tear in protective gear, an alarm is triggered.
These safety measures have been in place for many years, but in 1976, when Ebola was first becoming a concern, the full extent of the virus's dangers was still unknown. On November 5, 1976, a researcher at Porton Down was accidentally infected when he pricked his thumb with a needle while working with infected laboratory animals. Days later, he fell ill, providing the scientific community with valuable data and samples that helped them understand the virus. Fortunately, he survived the incident.
6. Sexual Transmission
The first 7–10 days after the onset of symptoms are crucial for Ebola patients. This is the period when most patients succumb to the virus, though recovery is possible if the body produces enough antibodies to fight it off. Even when a blood test shows negative results, Ebola can still remain in unusual places, such as in the breast milk of nursing women. The virus can also persist in semen for up to three months, as blood-based antibodies do not reach the testicles. As a precaution, men who recover from Ebola are advised to use condoms during sexual activity. For instance, seminal fluid from the researcher at Porton Down still contained the virus 61 days after his recovery.
Experts argue that the chance of Ebola spreading through sexual contact is low, especially considering that individuals with high viral loads are usually too ill to engage in sexual activity. A more likely, albeit far more grim, route of transmission is the African custom of washing the bodies of the deceased before burial. Although Ebola thrives in living hosts, the virus has been detected in the carcasses of apes that had been dead for several days.
5. Impact on Wildlife
Viruses that cause death in just a matter of days understandably evoke fear, but they are not necessarily the most dangerous. Rapidly fatal viruses like Ebola tend to burn out quickly and stay close to their origin, limiting their reach. In contrast, viruses that develop more slowly, such as HIV/AIDS, can spread across the globe over time.
Scientists believe one reason Ebola keeps reappearing is that it has found a reservoir in the bat population of central and western Africa, similar to how bats serve as a vector for rabies in other regions. Asymptomatic fruit bats spread the virus to animals like the duiker (a small antelope) and primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas.
In more developed regions, these infected animals would quickly perish, and the outbreak would be contained. However, in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the trade in 'bush meat'—wild animals like bats, monkeys, and rats—is a common practice when other food sources are scarce. Though it may seem unappealing to many, it is a vital means of survival. It only takes one infected animal to be consumed to spark an entire outbreak, as happened in the 2014 Ebola crisis.
4. How Ebola Kills
Although the current outbreak seems contained, hospitals worldwide remain vigilant for signs of Ebola. Unfortunately, the early symptoms of the virus are so common that they are often overlooked or misdiagnosed. At first, the symptoms resemble a cold or flu: headache, fatigue, body aches, fever, sore throat, and more. Typically, these signs suggest a rough few days ahead but are not enough to send someone rushing to the emergency room.
Things quickly deteriorate from there. The stomach begins to rebel with vomiting, diarrhea, and intense gastrointestinal pain, which weakens the body in preparation for the next phase. This is when the 'hemorrhagic' aspect of the fever becomes visible. Internal bleeding is frequent, blisters form on the skin, and blood starts to leak from the eyes and ears.
Death follows from various complications, including seizures, organ failure, and severe hypotension. The mortality rate is influenced by several factors, including the specific strain of the virus. As of August, the fatality rate for the 2014 outbreak was just above 60 percent.
3. Treatment
Historically, there was little to be done for Ebola patients. They were mainly provided with supportive care, including fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration, painkillers like ibuprofen to reduce fever, and antibiotics to combat secondary infections while helping the immune system focus on battling the virus. Recovery largely depended on the individual's health and the specific strain they contracted.
However, the American patients, Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, were given access to experimental treatments. Brantly received a blood transfusion from a 14-year-old boy he had treated, who had survived the virus. They were also given a serum developed by San Diego’s Mapp Biopharmaceutical, derived from the antibodies of animals exposed to Ebola. This serum is designed to boost the immune system and has reportedly helped improve Brantly and Writebol’s conditions. Other companies, including Vancouver’s Tekmira Pharmaceuticals and Fujifilm’s US partner MediVector, have also been accelerated in their efforts to create Ebola treatments in time.
2. Transmission
The exact ways in which Ebola spreads are still not fully understood. While it is widely agreed that the virus is transmitted among humans through bodily fluids, there is some debate about whether it can be spread through the air from pigs to other animals. On the surface, it may seem relatively simple to protect oneself from such a virus by minimizing fluid contact, even for those providing direct care.
However, those who have not seen the devastation caused by Ebola often fail to appreciate just how much bodily fluid an Ebola patient can lose, especially in the later stages when blood can escape from virtually every body opening. Compounding this, a single healthcare worker is frequently responsible for caring for multiple patients, and the medical infrastructure in many parts of central and western Africa is under-resourced, which helps explain why so many healthcare workers become infected.
1. Vaccine
Historically, Ebola spread from its animal reservoirs, usually infecting a small number of individuals in rural areas before it eventually petered out. While alarming and serving as the basis for thrillers like the 1995 film Outbreak, which centers around a fictional variation of the disease, it didn’t generate widespread concern in Western countries. The development of a cure or vaccine was never deemed financially viable by pharmaceutical companies, as there was no substantial profit to be made.
Although there is little potential for profit, governments around the world have been taking the threat of Ebola seriously for years, investing millions into research on how to counter the virus if it were ever used as a biological weapon. Some experimental vaccines have shown considerable promise, such as one that successfully prevented rhesus monkeys from contracting the Zaire strain, responsible for the 2014 outbreak. This vaccine was so effective that it even cured four monkeys who were already infected. However, translating this success into a commercially viable solution for the general population remains a significant challenge.
