WINNIPEG — An employee at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg may have been exposed to the Ebola virus after a tear in a protective suit was noticed during decontamination.
Ebola is a highly contagious virus that the World Health Organization estimates kills 50 per cent of those it infects. The World Health Organization says the virus is transmitted to humans through wild animals and then spreads through the population through close contact with contaminated bodily fluids. The virus is not airborne.
Here are more facts about Ebola:
Origin: The Ebola virus was discovered in 1976 when two outbreaks flared up almost simultaneously in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. One of those outbreaks took place near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo, giving the virus its name.
The spread: Ebola spreads through close contact with a symptomatic person's bodily fluids, such as blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva or semen. Those fluids must have an entry point, such as a cut or scrape, or direct contact with contaminated parts of the body.
Certain burial customs that require direct contact with a person who has died from Ebola can also spread the virus. The World Health Organization says blood, feces and vomit are the most infectious fluids, while the virus is found in saliva mostly once patients are severely ill.
Symptoms: The World Health Organization says early symptoms of the virus include "the sudden onset of fever fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat."
More advanced symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, rash, signs of impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Humans can show signs of illness from between two to 21 days of infection and only become contagious to others when they start showing symptoms themselves.
Vaccines: There are currently no proven vaccines for Ebola. The World Health Organization says infected patients who are kept hydrated and whose symptoms are brought under control have a better chance of survival.
