IT’S a deadly virus spreading out of control and doctors fear it may
travel further as hundreds of potential victims fail to come forward
for help.
The current Ebola outbreak in Guinea has claimed nearly 500 lives
as the UN struggles to contain it, and panic sets in across neighbouring
Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The UN has warned the virus, which is
spread by exposure to infected bodily fluids and other secretions, has
the potential to cross borders unless urgent action is taken to halt the
outbreak.
Doctors say a mistrust of Western medicine and
difficulty in accessing remote areas means potential sufferers are going
untreated.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) told the UK
Telegraph
that at least 1500 people who may have come into contact with infected patients have not be properly traced by authorities.
Aid agencies are struggling to contain the spread of Ebola.
Source: Supplied
It is the first time the virus has been seen on the western
edge of the African continent, with earlier Ebola outbreaks confined to
central nations such as Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
MSF said the deadly virus was “out of control” in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and could soon spread beyond West Africa.
The
Eloba outbreak remains the worst on record with 467 reported deaths so far.
Boys wait outside hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the body of a relative reportedly killed by Ebola.
Source: AP
Ebola can kill within days, causing severe fever, muscle pain,
weakness, vomiting and diarrhoea — and in some cases, the shutting down
of organs and unstoppable bleeding.
The virus also remains
contagious even if the infected person dies. It can also be passed on by
unprotected handling of infected corpses.
No medicine or vaccine
exists for the disease, but doctors say chances of survival are
increased with early medical intervention.
Nearly 90 per cent of people who become infected with Ebola virus die as a result of exposure to the highly contagious virus.
Ebola is highly contagious and almost certainly deadly.
Source: News Limited
Originally published as Ebola spreading ‘out of control’
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