Is the Ebola virus coming back, or is that just a myth?
405209
Ebola is one of a number of filoviruses that can infect humans and cause profound levels of illness and mortality (often in excess of 50% of infected people).  Periodic outbreaks occur, predominantly in Africa, indicating that an as yet unknown small animal ("reservoir") is continously infected with this virus.  As is the case for many similar diseases, this carrier animal is unlikely to show dramatic signs of illness and eradication of the virus is therefore not possible until this animal species is identified and cured in the wild.\n\nThere is no evidence to indicate that Ebola outbreaks today are more severe or occur more regularly than in the past.  In fact, the rapidity by which humans progress to fatal (or near fatal) disease following infection, makes it very unlikely that a major epidemic will ever occur with Ebola or similar viruses.  People simply get too sick, too fast, for the virus to spread to many additional hosts.  Therefore, natural outbreaks tend to "burn out" very quickly.
52897
There is no cure for any viral infection, although there are immunizations for some (e.g. measles, small pox, etc.).\n\nSince Ebola causes hemmoragic fever, treatment for the disease is aimed at maintaining blood volume and other suuportive therapy (the goal being maintaining tissue perfusion), reduction of fever, and pain management.\n\nRelatively little is known about the Ebola virus for a variety of reasons.  Victims die relatively quickly, so there is not much time to examine and study them.  This may be a blessing in disguise, however, since it also means that outbreaks burn themselves out quickly and the victims are usually too sick to infect a large number of other people.  Outbreaks usually occur in remote parts of Africa, so medical research resources are limited.  Finally, and luckily, it is a fairly rare disease, but that also means that fewer resources are allocated to studying it.\n\nI don't know of any documented cases of a human carrier (which is what was described in a previous answer).  People do survive Ebola infection, albeit often with lasting effects from organ damage.  Usually these are people several generations down in the chain of infection.  That is another problem with Ebola study, the carrier has not been identified yet.
399765
I believe that we are living in the end times.  Jesus will be returning soon, I can feel it deep in my soul.  Many Bible prophecies about the end times already have happened, and more are still coming true today.  Such as "there will be wars, and rumors of wars".  Well, we're in the middle of a war with Iraq right now, and there are rumors of other wars in other countries.  It's happening, and it's happening very fast.  Therefore, yes, I believe that the Antichrist is alive somewhere today.  It would be a scary thought for me, but since I've already accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I know that I won't be here when the real suffering begins.  Once Jesus comes back and all the believers are taken to heaven, everything on earth is going to start getting much, much worse.  I thank God that I won't be here to see it, and pray that the ones I know and love won't be here to see it either.
162919
I am very scared!!! We had an article in our local paper a few weeks back about all the what ifs. I was very shaken by it. All the talks of millions dying and mass graves. Who wouldn't be scared. I have a son with asthma and they said the ones to die would be the elderly and ones with weakened lungs. I hope it never makes it here. It it does I already said I will shut up my house and my family will not leave. I will wear a mask to get fodd or thingsthat need to get done but my kids will not be casually infected.
154438
I heard it came from some natives engaging in sexual contact with the monkeys, getting infected with the virus and passing it on to a human partner.I have absolutely no refference material for this speculation tho, it's something i heard a long time ago.
47692
Not rumours, actually scientific research conclusions.\nCheck out below web site for discussions & links to what's happening.
656148
I believe it's the Ebola version of the hemorrhagic fever virus which belongs to the filo-virus group. It has a 90+  percent death rate as compared to the Marburg strain of this virus which has a 65 percent death rate.
170543
i agree with you...i think that it might be the next big pandemic.
817756
Highly unlikely......it takes a certain amount of the virus to actually infect you.
509603
I believe that the Bird Flu will be the next scare here in the U.S.  Remember the West Nile Virus?  The virus carried infected mosquitoes from Africa and infected millions.  Now only one percent of the people infected needed serious medical attention just here in the United States.  And only one percent of that one percent lived.  The outcome of the illness was severe brain damage, long and short term memory loss, stroke(s), blindness, speech, and other major normal day use of your body.  Their lives were basically destroyed.  The government have not been very helpful on getting these people help either.  \nBut, I feel the government is preparing for the pandemic properly.  Better be safe than sorry.  As for the people out there saying it is all propaganda, I'd like to smack them right here and now.\nI...ME...MYSELF was infected with that damn mosquito that nobody believed was ever going to happen and the government was just talking...propaganda.  \nMy life is hell to say the least.  I fight everyday to regain my strength, my day to day life living.  I have lost so many people near and dear to me because I got sick.  \nSo all of you out there that thinks this is all propaganda, write on here after you become infected with the pandemic so you can tell all of us how you were wrong.  Don't ever think it can never happen to you, because it can. Do not be ignorant and listen to warnings.  I guess the mistake I made was not using insect repellant.  One mistake I will never make again.\nWhy would our government want to mislead us in such a tragic way?  Don't you think the war we are in now is tragic enough?\nQuit being fools and listen to all health bulletins when and if the pandemic comes close to the States.
233345
Ebola Zaire, but there are others which can be pretty gruesome to certain percentages.\n\nSome small percentage of people survives every thing owing to age, strength and vitality, and genetic variabilty (among the humans).  \n\nYou can google this virus, CCHF, and others, but you will need to brace yourself.\n\nAlso check out Marburg virus or fever.\n\nYou are a good candidate for book, THE COMING PLAGUE\nby Laurie Garrett, available in paperback.  Someone at Amazon.com may have used copy for a few dollars.\n\nEdit:  Rabies is well understood.  We know the source(s) and there is a vaccine which works if promptly administered.  Control measures are in force to protect dogs and cats from becoming sources.\n\nOn the other hand, there is no vaccine for Ebola.  Bats are suspected, but nothing is known for absolute sure.  It strikes suddenly and out of the dark and spreads from person to person rapidly, often where precautions are in force.  It is almost always fatal and the trip towards death is rapid and gruesome.  The related viruses are similar but can have somewhat higher survival rates, still very much the smaller percentage.
609595
No.  It's total fearmongering, just like the governments all over the world did with 9/11, and Anthrax in the mail etc...\n\nA virus cannot try to mutate.  It just does it.  Flu season for this year is almost over, and who knows what will happen in time for next flu season?
83103
We have no statistics to back that up.  I doubt that anyone went into the jungle to count any other species dying from the disease.  The really scary part is that it comes in waves, and dies out on its own.
310612
The Ebola virus is a type of threadlike family of viruses known as Filoviruses. Similar to Ebola Zaire (the most deadly form, with 90% fatality) is the Marburg virus (with a 60% mortality). There are also other strains, including one that only affects monkeys (Ebola Reston). Scientists are unsure of its exact origin, but surmise that it may have come from the Mount Elgon area in Zaire. Scientists do not know which species of animal or insect carries the virus, but they do know that it can be passed to humans through contact with monkeys. Ebola is an airborne Level-4 pathogen, but it is primarily spread through contact with the bodily fluids of a dead or dying victim. Whole villages in Kenya and Zaire have been decimated because of the way the villagers handled the dead bodies, coming into contact with fluids.\n\nEbola essentially "takes over" it's host, killing within a few weeks. It eats at the connective tissues of the body and in replicating itself destroys the blood's ability to clot (hence the reason why most victims crash and bleed out through all body orifices). It begins with intense headaches and backaches and is sometimes mistaken for malaria. \n\nEbola Marburg was first discovered in Marburg, Germany in 1966 when an animal testing facility was shipped a number of infected monkeys that in turn infected the staff of the facility. Sixty percent of those people died. \n\nEbola is studied worldwide, including in the US. However, studies done with Ebola are done under extremely sterile conditions in a Level-4 biocontainment lab. (See the movie Outbreak for a good idea of what that looks like). \n\nEbola is not a concern, necessarily, unless you live in an area where an outbreak is likely.
118371
There are several alternative treatments that have been yielding encouraging evidence in controlling the virus.\n\nYou may visit the source website below for further description of these.
1063299
There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola
832349
actually, the one out of every 500,000 is just short hand for we don't have enough cases to figure out what the real statistics is for this disease. This fact was actually brought up in an class on evolution I had the other week, but yeah, don't rely on the one out 500,000 or 1 out 200,000 statistics, it's just some guestimate that sounds better then we don't know.