Ebola seems far away for those in America, unreal and just vaguely threatening. With America’s plethora of hospitals and medicines, a serious, widespread disease seems unconcerning and impossible.  But for those in Africa, a nightmare has come to life. The West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia are faced with this highly infectious disease .

Ebola is a disease without a cure, and researchers have said it is similar to the Black Plague of the Middle Ages. A disease with a past fatality rate of 90%, Ebola’s symptoms include bleeding, high fever, and central nervous system damage. Fluid intake, however, can help chances of survival. The disease infects humans through close contact with infected animals, such as the fruit bat. It then spreads between humans through direct contact with infected blood and bodily fluids, or indirectly through the contaminated environment.

The sudden rise in Ebola victims has been cause for global concern. The WHO, World Health Organization, reports that Ebola has claimed 728 lives in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone this year. Currently, the mortality rate is about 55%, but is expected to rise.

The US has announced plans to send 50 health experts to West Africa to help fight the worst outbreak of Ebola ever seen. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced the new US measures in an interview with ABC. He stated, “It’s old-fashioned plain and simple public health: find the patients, make sure they get treated, find their contacts, track them, educate people, do infection control in hospitals.”