article: But there are a few forms of the virus which have been identified by scientists. But if you get the right medical care and treatment, you can recover. Ebola was first spotted in the African countries of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976. In five months 284 people in Sudan caught the virus. It killed 117. You can catch it through direct contact with the body fluids of an infected person such as blood and saliva. It is not airborne like the flu so is more difficult to catch but is very infectious: so infected people have to be kept separate to reduce the risk of it spreading. Health care workers who have looked after sick patients have also been infected. It's thought Ebola is carried by animals too - chimpanzees and monkeys have been badly affected by the virus. It is spread to humans from close contact with infected animals and can then be passed between people. This latest outbreak has been linked with fruit bats - which are considered a tasty meal in parts of Africa. There is no cure or vaccine for Ebola but a new experimental drug, ZMapp, has been used in the US on health workers and a UK nurse who caught the disease in Africa. They recovered from the virus. You lose a lot of fluids when you have the disease so giving people enough water and the right vitamins, minerals and nutritious food is one of the main treatments. October - The government announced that more is being done to deal with the risk of the Ebola virus in the UK. People will be able to ring a special phone line and will be asked questions about their travel history and possible symptoms. Experts will be on standby with several hospitals ready to deal with any possible cases. The Ebola virus has spread across West Africa in recent months and prompted lots of questions from you. We asked virus expert Dr Benjamin Neuman to answer some of your questions. 20th October - Nigeria was declared free from Ebola after more than six weeks without any new cases. But the World Health Organisation says Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone are still trying to prevent it spreading. Lots of countries and charities are trying to help stop the outbreak of the virus by sending troops, supplies and helping to build more facilities to treat people. Chris Worrall from the charity Oxfam, has told Martin about the work they're doing to raise awareness of the virus. 3rd September - The first British person to catch Ebola during the outbreak in West Africa made a full recovery. William Pooley was brought back to the UK from Africa and was treated in a special isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London but has now been discharged. William was given the experimental drug ZMapp and has praised the "world class" care he received. He was working as a volunteer nurse in one of the worst affected countries, Sierra Leone, when he caught the virus. August
summary: Ebola - or Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) - is a really deadly virus: 50% to 90% of people who catch it die.