Ebola: Getting the Facts

What do you know about Ebola?

What is Ebola? Ebola is a very deadly, dangerous and infectious disease for humans. It was first identified in 1976 following an outbreak in the DR Congo. Fruit bats are the main carriers. Humans contract Ebola when they’re bitten or scratched by an animal carrying it, or if they eat infected meat.

How is Ebola transferred between humans?

Ebola outbreaks are rare and is actually very hard to contract from another human. It is primarily caught via direct contact with an infected person’s blood or bodily fluids. There is currently no cure or vaccination against Ebola. However, if kept contained, the spread and risk of catching the disease can be minimal. Currently, Ebola normally has a fatality rate of 50%. In this most recent outbreak however, fatality rates are as high as 75%.

Symptoms of Ebola It can take between 2 days to 3 weeks for the symptoms of Ebola to become apparent. On average symptoms tend to appear between 8-10 days. Early symptoms include: Fever Severe headache Joint and muscle aches Chills Weakness

As the disease progresses, symptoms become increasingly severe, and a person suffering from Ebola will experience: Nausea and vomiting Diarrhoea Red eyes Raised rash Chest pain and cough Stomach pain Severe weight loss Bleeding and Bruising Internal Bleeding Ebola can eventually lead to organ failure and death. Symptoms of Ebola

Where can Ebola be found?

The recent outbreak of Ebola is mostly contained to a small part of West Africa. 2014’s Ebola epidemic is thought to originate from Gueckedou, which is a village on the boarder of Guinea. West Africa Outbreak Cases then began to rapidly spread throughout Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

West Africa Outbreak

Cases of Ebola have also been found in Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, DR Congo, Spain, UK and USA. However, the disease has been contained and isolated within these countries. Nigeria and Senegal have even been able to state that they are now ‘Ebola free’!

Between 1976 and ,590 people were recorded to have died from Ebola. As of January 5 th 2015 the total death toll from this outbreak is 8,168. Why do you think the 2014 Ebola epidemic has been so bad within Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia? What factors may have caused its rapid spread?

Look at the blue dot on the map. This roughly shows the area of Gueckedou, which is where the initial outbreak of Ebola is thought to have originated. What is it close to? The village is very near to the borders of both Sierra Leone and Liberia. In this area, crossing back and forth between these three countries is a daily norm. How could this have affected the spread of Ebola? Borders

Healthcare Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have very unsteady health systems, and very limited staff and medical resources. They don’t have the capacity to cope with emergencies like Ebola. Hospitals aren’t as common, and tend to be miles away from rural areas. They don’t have anything like the NHS, and so treatment can be expensive. Did you know...? In Sierra Leone they have only 120 qualified doctors to serve the WHOLE country!

Restricted Travel and Migration Getting to hospitals takes time and is difficult because most roads aren’t tarmacked, and make for difficult driving. By the time a sick patient reached hospital, there was a limited chance of survival, and a higher risk that the disease has been spread. Upon the initial outbreak people moved away from infected areas. This meant that people who had come into contact with the disease, would have then carried it elsewhere. What areas do you think people moved to?

Education Education is very limited in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. A majority of the population in each of these countries are illiterate. What does ‘illiterate’ mean? To prevent the spreading of Ebola, people need to be kept well informed. This is hard when people can’t read educational posters and have many misconceptions about the disease, and don’t know how to stop it from spreading. What other ways can people become educated and learn the facts about Ebola?

Water Keeping patients rehydrated is key in treating Ebola. An estimated 250 litres of water is needed per day to treat just 1 patient with Ebola. However, in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia there is a very limited access to clean water. This limits the treatment of patients with the essential and necessary care.

What do we mean by ‘Sanitation’? Sanitation is crucial in keeping Ebola controlled and contained. In Africa, access to decent sanitation is very difficult. How is Ebola spread? A lot of the time people will go to the toilet, dump their waste and wash themselves, their dishes and clothes in the same place, or very close by. This means diseases can spread rather easily. Sanitation

What have you learned about Ebola?

Activity Create an informative flier about the importance of water and sanitation in tackling Ebola. Remember to include: A title, headings and subheadings Key information – don’t waffle, keep points clear and concise. Colour to make your information stand out Pictures to get your message across Bullet points What else do you need to remember?

Activity The outbreak of Ebola has formed a lot of fear, due to people’s misconceptions about the disease. Create a poster debunking any myths that people may have about Ebola. You can use the information from this PowerPoint to help you, but try and do your own research as well.