A strain of the deadly Ebola Virus broke out in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. The virus quickly spread to neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia, leaving all of West Africa on high alert. Senegal, Mali, Ghana, and Mauritania have possible cases of Ebola that are being currently investigated. In total, there have been 1202 cases of Ebola in West Africa in 2014 which have left 673 dead. The mortality rate for this epidemic is 56%.
On July 25, 2014, the first case of the virus spreading by air travel was reported. A Liberian man visited Lagos, Nigeria where he was hospitalized and later died of Ebola. In addition, two American doctors who were working with the sick in West Africa have tested positive for the Ebola virus.
As you can expect, the outbreak of Ebola has drastically affected these nations' economies. Many people are unable to work because of infections with Ebola. In addition, people are leaving the nation at high rates to avoid contracting the virus. This affects the transportation industry as well as the hotels in the cities like Conakry.
The Ebola virus attacks the central nervous system but begins to manifest itself with flu-like symptoms. Eventually as the central nervous system is compromised, the Ebola virus leads to fatigue and seizures and induces a coma. There is no specific treatment for Ebola which contributes to its high death rate. The virus typically spreads in outbreaks, most commonly in Africa. The virus was first documented along the Congo River in what is currently the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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