Facts about ebola virus

Ebola is caused by an RNA virus
This emerging health threat is the result of a RNA (ribonucleic acid) virus that infects wild animals — like fruit bats, monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees — as well as people. Contact with an infected animal’s blood or body fluids is probably the original source of the infectious disease.

Early Ebola symptoms are also symptoms of other viral infections
Early Ebola symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, cough, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Because these could be symptoms of other diseases, it's difficult to diagnose Ebola early on. The time it takes from exposure to Ebola to actually getting sick, known as the incubation period, is anywhere from 2 to 21 days, says UAB's Pigott. Most people who are infected with Ebola will develop early symptoms eight to nine days after exposure to the virus

Bleeding is common in the later stages of Ebola
Later symptoms of Ebola can appear quickly, within a few days after onset of early symptoms. Due to internal and external bleeding, the patient's eyes may become red, and they may vomit blood, have bloody diarrhea, and suffer cardiovascular collapse and death

Ebola is often fatal
Almost half of the cases of Ebola viral infection in West Africa have resulted in death, based on WHO data. Of the 13,567 cases in the current outbreak, 4,951 deaths were reported as of Oct 31, according to WHO statistics.