Ebola outbreak has spread to a third country

The deaths in Sierra Leone occurred in a region across from a part of Guinea that's been hard hit by the Ebola outbreak.

The virus, first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is transmitted to people through the blood and other secretions of wild animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, bats and porcupines, according to the WHO. Humans transmit the virus to each other through contact with blood and other body fluids. Previous outbreaks have killed as much as 90 percent of those infected. There are no approved drugs or vaccines to treat or prevent Ebola.

Ebola is one in a handful of diseases that are so deadly and so contagious that they pose a risk to national security, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency lists the virus as a Category A bioterrorism agent, alongside anthrax and smallpox.

The WHO said it doesn't recommend any travel or trade restrictions with Sierra Leone.

See also:

• Ebola outbreak empties West African hotels
• Ebola kills more people
• On the Third Hand: Physician pay