V. A. MELNIKOV, Our sobkor in Ghana Keywords: Ebola, virus, Ghana, ECOWAS, borders The Ebola virus was first recorded and identified in 1976 in the area of the river of the same name in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). But so far, neither a vaccine nor drugs for specific treatment have been created. The mortality rate, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), reaches 90%. "The Ebola outbreak that is raging in West Africa is the largest, most complex and severe in the 40-year history of the disease. The number of new patients is growing much faster than the ability to treat them, " said Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, during a two-day conference that brought together about 200 experts under the auspices of the organization.1 The disease is rampant in 7 West African countries. Discovered in Guinea in February this year, the virus has spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Senegal. The rapid spread of infection is facilitated by difficult socio-economic conditions in these countries - poverty and unsanitary conditions. In the first cases of the disease, the correct diagnosis was not established due to the lack of special test systems, strict precautions were not taken. At the end of October this year, the number of victims of the deadly Ebola virus exceeded 5 thousand people, of which more than 500 people died in Sierra Leone. Almost 10 thousand people were infected with fever. And these numbers continue to grow. The epidemic occurs mainly in remote villages in Central and West Africa, in the rainforest zone - until now, the fever has not affected people outside the African continent. The risk of its spread outside of Africa is small, but it is quite real, given the fact that the disease first found itself in the capitals of states where there are international airports. DANGEROUS SCENARIO The first symptoms of Ebola appear in the period from two days to 21 days after infection - more than en ... Read more