Experts do not know what causes Ebola. There is no licensed vaccine or specified treatment.
Here's what Dr. Karel Rattay, director of Delaware's Division of Public Health, and Dr. Neil Fishman, infectious disease specialist with the University of Pennsylvania, say you need to know about Ebola:
Q: What is Ebola?
A: A severe viral infection, Ebola begins with a classic symptom: fever. Then sudden headaches, severe vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea can materialize the course of days. What makes Ebola uncharacteristically violent and unique is unexplained hemorrhaging – for example a small scratch cannot stop bleeding or severe bruises will not fade. The hemorrhaging will lead to renal failure, brain bleeds and the nervous system will shut down. Death is imminent if the symptoms can't be controlled.
The outbreaks primarily occur in remote regions of Central and West Africa, located near tropical rainforests.
To date, there have been 24 outbreaks in Africa. As of Aug. 1 there have been 1,603 suspected cases in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria and 887 deaths.
"I don't know why this is widespread. Usually Ebola comes and there's an outbreak and it goes," said Fishman. "It's [this is] the worst outbreak that there's ever been."
Q: How is Ebola spread?
A: The disease is spread person-to-person through direct contact with body fluids like blood, urine, sweat, semen, breast milk and feces. Ebola usually incubates for about 10 days before showing symptoms. However, people who have been exposed to the disease may show symptoms in as little as two days, or up to 21 days after exposure.
Humans were first introduced to Ebola through contact with infected animals like primates, fruit bats and forest antelope, according to the CDC.
Q: Since Ebola can be transmitted via blood, can mosquitos or fleas spread the viral infection?
A: No. Ebola is only spread through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. There is no evidence supporting mosquito-borne Ebola, Rattay said.
"Certainly in Africa there are mosquito-borne diseases and they have not seen Ebola transmitted," Rattay said.
Q: What are the chances of a widespread outbreak in the United States?
A: Extremely low.
"The reason that it is transmitted so rapidly and easily in West Africa is because [there isn't] adequate personal protective equipment," Fishman said. "The disease itself the transmission's fairly easy to prevent if you use personal protective equipment."
The Centers for Disease Control and Protection recommend that U.S. hospitals managing patients with Ebola should place individuals in a single room, instruct providers to wear fluid-resistant gloves, gowns, shoe covers, goggles and facemasks and constantly disinfect the environment.
"If we take appropriate precautions, people will not be at risk," Fishman said.
Q: Is there any treatment?
A: No. There are no approved treatments for Ebola, just experimental therapies.
Fishman said he would recommend careful management of the symptoms and supportive care, such as blood pressure testing and being given fluids, as a way to help a sick patient.
Two Americans infected with Ebola in West Africa are undergoing ZMapp therapy, a drug by Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., that combines an anti-body cocktail.
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