Ebola

Ebola or the Ebola virus (properly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever) is a condition caused by a family of viruses. It is highly contagious (meaning it can be spread to others very easily) and affects both humans and primates such as Gorillas and Monkeys. In most cases, the person or animal suffering from it does not survive.

Ebola starts showing signs in the person or animal carrying it, anywhere from two days to three weeks after they become infected. First signs resemble heat stroke with fever, muscle pain and a headache. It also causes a sore throat. As the infected person or animal becomes sicker, this is quickly followed by vomiting, diarrhea and a rash, which doesn't disappear when it is pressed on. The final stages of Ebola are when the person or animal begins to bleed both inside and outside.

The condition is called "hemorrhagic" (from the Greek "haima", blood and "rhegnumai", to break out/free) because it causes uncontrollable bleeding from all parts of the body; Major organs, like the Liver, capillaries, arteries and veins will leak blood through their walls. This causes the person or animal to lose a lot of their blood very quickly and, in most cases, die.

There are cases of people surviving Ebola hemorrhagic fever, notably the British nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who survived the condition several times, having caught it in 2014 while working in West Africa during an outbreak in Sierra Leone.

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