This is now the deadliest ebola outbreak on record — and it’s getting worse
By Terrence McCoy
WashingtonPost.com
June 27. 2014
It begins in the morning. The victim awakens feeling unwell. They’re without appetite. Their head aches. Sore throat. Fever. Chills.
What’s happening to the victim’s body isn’t dissimilar to other diseases that attack the immune system, but this one’s substantially more aggressive. “Exactly when and where you caught Ebola virus is unclear,” wrote Lancaster University lecturer Derek Gatherer. “It can take anywhere between two and 21 days from initial infection to the first symptoms. What is more certain is that you are now infectious yourself. Your family, friends and anyone in close contact with you are now in mortal danger.”
The danger has never been greater in West Africa as the worst Ebola outbreak on record continues its deadly sweep of jungles and cities, hopping national borders and frustrating hundreds of doctors who parachuted in to vanquish the disease but have so far failed. As of Thursday, the pandemic with a 90 percent mortality rate has killed more than 367 people and afflicted 635 more in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, where it is believed to have begun.
The Rest…HERE
