The Ebola Virus in United States
In the United States, no case of
Ebola virus infection in humans has ever been reported. Ebola-Reston virus caused severe illness and death in monkeys imported to research facilities in the United States and Italy from the Philippines; during these
Ebola outbreaks, several research workers became infected with the Ebola virus, but did not become ill.
How Do Outbreaks of the Ebola Virus Begin?
Researchers have hypothesized that the first patient with Ebola becomes infected with Ebola virus through contact with an infected animal; however, just as scientists are unsure of the animal host for the Ebola virus, they are also unsure how an Ebola virus outbreak occurs.
Transmission of the Ebola Virus
Once
transmission of Ebola virus occurs to the first human, scientists do know how the Ebola virus is spread from human to human. They know that transmission of Ebola occurs through direct contact with patients who have Ebola, or through contact with their body fluids (such as blood or secretions). During the late stages of Ebola hemorrhagic fever, transmission of the Ebola virus is most likely to occur.
Ebola symptoms usually start abruptly. They can include:
- Dehydration
- Sore throat
- Weakness
- Rash
- Hiccups
- Severe headache
- Joint and muscle aches
- Fever
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Dry, hacking cough
- Stomach pain
- Internal bleeding
- External bleeding.
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