Ebola Fear Grips the World, Liberia Closes Borders

The Ebola virus that has gripped West Africa and has led to 700 deaths and counting in the region since February, has been termed as the most deadly by the World health Organization.

What is worrying is that the infection is spreading with even aid workers and doctors getting infected despite all precautions. In Liberia, an eminent doctor succumbed to the disease, according to the government officials. An American doctor and a charity aid worker in Moravia, capital of Liberia, have contracted the disease and are being treated, according to reports.

Latest reports say Dr Kent Brantly , 33, working with Samaritan's Purse, a Christian charity organisation  is in grave danger. His family went back to the US before the doctor showed signs of the disease.

Ebola virus has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent, according to the WHO.  Symptoms include high fever, joint pain followed by diarrhea and vomiting and in some cases internal bleeding. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put up a symptoms list  and issued a health advisory for doctors to look out for the symptoms.

Liberia is taking all precautions to stall the spread. Borders, airports will be monitored .  Liberia Monday closed most of its borders.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf  of Liberia has ordered that movement across the borders be controlled and all travelers  be monitored and tested for Ebola. Passengers at the airport will be  similarly screened.  Arik Air Ltd., West Africa's largest carrier, canceled flights to Liberia on Sunday in response to the epidemic, reports the Wall Street Journal.

There are 6 strains of the virus and five of them are found in Africa. The virus spreads through bodily fluid contact with an infected person.  According to the WHO the fruit bats are natural hosts to the virus and it generally spreads when humans come in contact with jungle animals in remote tropical areas.

There is no known cure for the virus but if caught early it is manageable like other viruses.  Strict quarantine is mandatory to prevent spread of the disease.

At least 1,201 people have contacted the virus in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the World Health Organization.  319 people have died in Guinea and 224 in Sierra Leone.