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The United Nations says a staff member in Liberia has died from ‘probable Ebola.’ The spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters today that it is the first death of a U.N. staffer in the outbreak that he is aware of.
Stephane Dujarric says the staffer was a Liberian national working with the U.N. mission in that country. He gave no further details. The World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak has sickened more than 6,500 people in West Africa, and more than 3,000 deaths have been linked to the disease. Global concern about the outbreak has led the United Nations to create a special mission to target it.
Here are some myths about Ebola virus disease
Myth #1: Ebola is not real
Fact: Ebola is real and is caused due to a virus.
The virus is thought to have been spread from animals to man and is capable of being contagious even before any symptoms are seen. Having killed over 700 people, the Ebola virus is known to be fatal 90% of the times. This apathy was highlighted in a news report by NEWSY, where Dr Sanjay Gupta said in an interview with CNN that people in Africa have a severe lack of knowledge regarding the virus and how it spreads. They touch the bodies of people who have died due to the infection, and get infected. This then spreads to people around them. Apart from that in a startling revelation, one person interviewed in Africa said that he did not believe that Ebola was real, while eating a piece of bush meat. As the disease continues killing, it is this belief that only makes the situation worse.
Myth #2: Ebola can only spread through blood
Fact: Ebola can spread through all body fluids including blood, sweat, semen, saliva and any other discharge.
This is mainly because of the way the virus attacks the body. Apart from affecting a person’s immune system, Ebola multiplies extremely fast and soon spreads throughout a person’s body. It then systematically infects all systems of the human body – barring the nervous system. This leads to bleeding and breakdown of all the defense mechanisms of the body. The infection becomes so severe that at a given time there can be up to 1000 viral cells in one drop of body fluid (especially blood). Read more about Ebola Facts: Top 7 myths busted
With inputs from PTI
Photo source: Getty images
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Ebola in Liberia: First staffer dies of ‘probable’ Ebola, says UN
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