For the third time in the history of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency has raised its level of emergency alertness to "Level 1"—this time in response to the Ebola virus, following outbreaks in West Africa.

CDC Level 1 emergency response, reserved for the most dire health emergencies, was declared for the first time in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina, and again in 2009 for the H1N1 influenza outbreak.¹

On August 8, the World Health Organization (WHO) also declared the Ebola outbreak an international public health emergency.²

The outbreak began late last year. Affected areas include Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. At the time of this writing, of the 1,711 people infected 932 have died in these three areas. Nine people have also been diagnosed with the disease in Nigeria.³

While the death rate for Ebola can be upwards of 90 percent, the current outbreak has a death rate of about 55 percent.⁴

Two American aid workers, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, have contracted the disease, and have been flown back for treatment in the US, aboard a specially-equipped plane. At least one of the victims is being treated at the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.^{5, 6}

What Is Ebola?

The Ebola virus⁷ was first discovered in 1976 when an outbreak occurred in Sudan. So far, five subtypes have been identified:

1. Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV), identified in 1976, is thought to be the most virulent
2. Sudan ebolavirus, (SEBOV)
3. Ivory Coast ebolavirus (ICEBOV)
4. Ebola-Reston (REBOV), isolated from monkeys in the Philippines in 1989. In 2009, this variant was thought to have been transferred from pigs to humans
5. Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BEBOV). The first outbreak of this virus occurred in the Bundibugyo District, Uganda, in 2007.⁸ The virus was deposited with the CDC in November 2007, and was patented in 2009.⁹ It is the most closely related to the ICEBOV strain, but it's more virulent

The current outbreak involves Zaire ebolavirus, which produces symptoms within six to 16 days of infection. The virus leads to severe immunosuppression, but most deaths are attributed to dehydration caused by gastric problems. Early signs of infection include:

• Non-specific flu-like symptoms
• Sudden onset of fever, diarrhea, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, and abdominal pains
• Other, less common symptoms include sore throat, rashes, and bleeding

As the infection sets in, shock, cerebral edema (fluid on the brain), coagulation disorders, and secondary bacterial infections may occur. Hemorrhaging tends to begin four to five days after onset of the initial symptoms, which includes bleeding in the throat, gums, lips, and vagina. Vomiting blood, excreting tar-like feces indicative of gastrointestinal bleeding, and liver and/or multi-organ failure can also occur.

How Ebola Spreads

According to Fabian Leendertz, an epidemiologist and disease ecologist at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, the West African outbreak is spreading via contact with bodily fluids from an infected person. Those at greatest risk are women caring for sick relatives, those handling the dead, and health care workers.

However, he notes that Ebola doesn't spread as easily as most people might think. Again, person-to-person transmission requires close personal contact with an infected individual or their body fluids during the late stages of infection, or after death.¹⁰

Leendertz recently told Science News¹¹ that "even if an infected person were to hop on a plane and fly to the United States, Europe, or elsewhere, tight health care measures would ensure that Ebola will never get far."

Researchers have also confirmed that Ebola is not airborne. Like HIV/AIDS, the Ebola virus requires contact with bodily fluids of an infected person.

Interestingly, the Ebola virus is inactivated by UV radiation.¹² It certainly isn't the first time sunlight has been shown to be beneficial in the fight against disease, although bacteria appears to be more susceptible to UV radiation than viruses.

Additionally, regular sun exposure will help optimize your vitamin D, which is crucial for overall robust immune function. Americans in particular may want to take that advice to heart, seeing how most are vitamin D deficient and therefore more open to infections of all kinds.

Where Did the Ebola Virus Come from?

Potential hosts of the Ebola virus include humans, various monkey species, chimpanzees, gorillas, baboons, duikers (a type of African antelope), two species of rodents, one species of shrew, and three species of fruit bats. The current outbreak in West Africa is thought to originate from either bats or primates.

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