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Ebola Facts
Ebola fever, named after a river in the Congo where it first gained the
attention of the world in 1976, is caused by a member of the
Filoviridae group. A filovirus is one that is thread-shaped, long
and thin, usually with a coiled or bizarrely shaped structure at one end. See
Microscopic Image
It is believed that the virus is transmitted through contact with blood and
bodily fluids (perhaps even perspiration) of infected persons, The disease
seems to appear suddenly as fever, headache, muscle pain, and to progress
rapidly with purpura, then organ failure. In its usual hemorrhagic form,
the disease causes the victim to "bleed out" from all orifices and
internally. Case fatality rate is in a 30-90% range, and the reasons for
survival have not been discovered. While neither the reservoir or
intermediate host (if any) of Ebola is yet conclusively known, an outbreak in Gabon
in 2002 has been associated with consumption of bush meat - specifically, a gorilla.
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