First your fever spikes, your joints hurt, and your head aches. It feels like the worst flu you’ve ever had. Then it gets worse: You double over with stomach pains, vomiting, and diarrhea. For about 60 percent of victims, these symptoms lead to organ failure and, ultimately, death.
This virus is called Ebola, and there’s been an outbreak of it in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since August 2018. As of press time, more than 2,700 people had become sick and 1,800 had died in this central African country. In July, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency after the first cases were reported in Goma. This city has a population of about 1 million, which could help spread the disease faster.