Hundreds of people are dead as the worst Ebola virus outbreak in history sweeps through West Africa. It began as a handful of cases in Guinea in March but quickly spread to neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia. Here are nine things to know about what the World Health Organization calls "one of the world's most virulent diseases." Why does Ebola generate such fear? Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) describes Ebola as "one of the world's most deadly diseases." "It is a highly infectious virus that can kill up to 90% of the people who catch it, causing terror among infected communities," it says.
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Ebola causes viral hemorrhagic fever and kills up to 90% of people who catch it
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It's named after the Ebola River in DRC, where one of first outbreaks occurred in 1976
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Symptoms can take between two and 21 days to appear after victim contracts virus
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Humans contract Ebola through contact with bodily fluids of infected animals or humans
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