5 Things You Need to Know Before Talking to Your Kids About the Ebola Outbreak

According to Washington DC's WJLA, "The Ebola virus is described as a group of viruses that cause a deadly kind of hemorrhagic fever. The term 'hemorrhagic fever' means it causes bleeding inside and outside the body . . . It's one of the most deadly viruses on Earth with a fatality rate that can reach between approximately 50 to 90 percent. There is no cure."

One of the first outbreaks of the virus occurred along the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo back in 1976. At the time, it was believed that bats in the area harbored the virus and they infected humans. A recent outbreak in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea has received a lot of media attention over the past few months.

Last week, a man who traveled to Dallas from Liberia tested positive for the virus. Though he passed the screen for the virus before boarding the plane, he began showing symptoms after arriving in the US.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ebola symptoms include:

• Fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)
• Severe headache
• Muscle pain
• Weakness
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal (stomach) pain
• Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)

But symptoms are not immediately evident. They may appear anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure.

Right now there is no vaccine (or shot) that can cure or prevent Ebola. There is medicine that is called "supportive therapy" that appears to be helping patients who have the virus. The US government is working on the development of a vaccine that is working on animals right now, but they don't know if it will work on humans.

As part of the government's plan to protect the public from the disease, they are identifying everyone who may have come in contact with the man who is in the hospital in Texas. Right now, they've identified five students at four Dallas schools — family members, neighbors, etc. — who may have had contact with him. Though the government says everyone else is safe, some parents are taking additional safety precautions and bringing their children home until they know for sure that they are safe.

Unequivocally no. First of all, Ebola is not an airborne disease. It spreads from animals to humans or from humans to humans via bodily fluids (blood, saliva, mucus, etc.) and surfaces that are contaminated with those fluids.

Though it sounds scary, the US health care system is designed to prevent the rapid spread of such diseases. Our doctors are educated in ways to prevent the spread and have protective gear (masks, gloves, gowns, etc.) to ensure that they don't catch the virus. Our hospitals are trained to isolate patients showing symptoms of the virus so no one else is exposed to it. They also have safety precautions like special disinfectants to clean themselves if they think they're exposed to someone with the symptoms.