Without wanting to send you into a deep state of depression, this year, so far, has been horrendous in terms of global disasters and misery.
The bad news is that the world’s luck doesn’t seem to be improving with what looks to be a worsening Ebola epidemic.
Ebola, for those who don’t watch the news, is a virus that initially causes flu like symptoms, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea and eventually decreased function in the liver and kidneys.
The virus is highly contagious and there is to date no human vaccine which means that tragically the virus has a high fatality.
Before the present outbreak in the African continent, the worst outbreak of the virus was back in 1976 with 602 cases. The horrendous 2014 epidemic has already surpassed this by some margin.
The virus is believed to be linked to the handling of fruit bats, who are considered to be natural hosts of the virus. This is then spread through a cycle of natural contact which is illustrated in the below infographic.
Due to the link to fruit bats the epidemic has so far been contained within fruit bat territories, but the rate of contagion is a cause for concern around the globe.
……but don’t let that worry you…….. no seriously, it is very unlikely that the epidemic will spread across the globe.
More information on the virus can be found in the infographic below and on the World Health Organisation website.
(All stats correct at time of infographic creation)