It amazes me...

that when a disease that is so deadly strikes, there are still people who rush in to contain it and save lives if possible. Ebola is one of the deadliest diseases out there, and one of the scariest that I know of. If it spreads it could be horrific. Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) does a wonderful job caring for people across the world. It's one of my favourite charities. If you're looking to give, you might want to check them out.

Guinea: Mobilising against an unprecedented Ebola epidemic

To date, Guinean health authorities have recorded 122 suspected patients and 78 deaths. Other cases, suspected or diagnosed, were found in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

MSF continues to strengthen its teams on the ground in Guinea. By the end of the week, there will be around 60 international fieldworkers who have experience in working on haemorrhagic fever. The group will be divided between Conakry and the other locations in the south-east of the country.

Among the fieldworkers are doctors, nurses, epidemiologists, water and sanitation experts, as well as anthropologists. In addition, more than 40 tonnes of equipment has been flown into the country to enable MSF teams to curb the spread of the disease.

“MSF has intervened in almost all reported Ebola outbreaks in recent years, but these outbreaks much more geographically contained and involved more remote locations, as opposed to urban areas. The vast geographic spread of the Guinea outbreak is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organisations working to control the epidemic,” said Lugli.

This is the most aggressive and deadly known form of the virus. It kills more than nine out of 10 patients

An MSF page on Ebola

Ebola can be caught from both humans and animals. It is transmitted through close contact with blood, secretions, or other bodily fluids.

Healthcare workers have frequently been infected while treating Ebola patients. This has occurred through close contact without the use of gloves, masks or protective goggles.

In areas of Africa, infection has been documented through the handling of infected chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found dead or ill in the rainforest.

Burials where mourners have direct contact with the deceased can also transmit the virus, whereas transmission through infected semen can occur up to seven weeks after clinical recovery.

No specific treatment or vaccine is yet available for Ebola