Ebola is a rare but deadly disease spread through direct contact with blood and body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola or through needles or other objects that have been contaminated with the virus. Ebola is not spread through the air or by water, or by food, in general.
Signs and symptoms of Ebola include fever, and severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, or bleeding or bruising. These signs and symptoms may appear between 2 and 21 days after exposure. A person infected with Ebola is contagious once symptoms appear.
No specific vaccine or medicine has been proven to cure Ebola. However, experimental treatments and vaccines for Ebola are currently under development.