West Africa struggling with ebola

The Western African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone continue to struggle to contain the spread of the ebola virus, for which there is no proven cure or vaccine. It has killed more than 1,300 people since March 2014. 

The ebola virus is spread through contact with an infected person’s bodily fluid (including saliva); it has not been shown to be airborne. Ebola is transmittable only by people showing symptoms. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external hemorrhaging. 

With the exception of the delivery of humanitarian aid, Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and South Africa all have imposed complete travel bans to and from the affected countries. Senegal also has closed its borders with Guinea to all traffic.

Due to the size of the outbreak, the World Health Organization has allowed an untested drug to be used to treat patients in Africa.