The second deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history has claimed the lives of more than 1,600 people since August in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Now health experts fear the highly-contagious virus could spread internationally. The first case of Ebola was detected in DRC city of Goma on Sunday, home to more than a million people. The city sits on the border of Rwanda close to an international airport.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged countries to monitor the latest outbreak, although it has not recommended closing borders.
What is Ebola? What are the symptoms? How is it spread?
Ebola is the short name for Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF).
The serious illness causes death in 50 percent of people who become infected.
The WHO says fatality rates have previously varied between 25 percent and 95 percent in previous outbreaks.
Ebola was transmitted to humans by wild animals but can be passed from person to person.
The WHO says the virus can be spread “via direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes”.
A person who has come into with a person with ebola or has touched a contaminated object that has body fluids from the sick person can be infected.
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Body fluids are classed as blood, vomit or faces.
Symptoms can come on suddenly, they include:
Fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, sore throat.
This can leader to vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, kidney and liver damage, internal bleeding and death.
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