Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Ebola is a rare but deadly disease caused by a virus. Ebola viruses normally infect animals, typically fruit bats, but outbreaks among humans can sometimes start when people eat or handle infected animals.
It takes two to 21 days for symptoms to appear. They come on suddenly and start like the flu or malaria, with fever, headache and tiredness.
As the disease progresses, vomiting and diarrhoea develop and it can lead to organ failure. Some, but not all, patients develop internal and external bleeding. The virus spreads from one person to another by contact with infected bodily fluids such as blood or vomit.
