Uganda: November 20, 2000

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Ebola is a virus that is also found in primates (monkeys and apes.) Once you have it, symptoms appear in 2-21 days. The Sudan strain is fatal 60 percent of the time, the Zaire version is fatal 90 percent of the time. .Like AIDS, it is spread by contact with an infected persons body fluids. Patients have to be handled carefully and even dead victims can still infect. Ebola is an RNA virus, which means it mutates rapidly. If a strain develops that can be spread by airborne particles (sneezing, coughing, etc.), then the disease will hit a lot more people. Good medical care can help patients survive long enough to fight off the disease, but this does not guarantee survival. Currently, Ebola exists in Sudan, Congo and, recently, Ivory Coast. If someone with Ebola gets on an airplane and travels to a more densely populated area, like North America, Asia or Europe, the disease could spread worldwide in a pandemic that could kill millions.

 

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