Quote:There is a book called The Hot Zone. It's a very good account of the history of the virus, but it errs in one regard. It describes one effect of the virus as a victim's organs "liquifying", but that doesn't happen. There are two effects - it shuts down the body's immune system, and prevents blood clotting. Patients bleed. 

 

The reason it spreads so much in Africa is their inability to isolate victims, and also unsafe burial practices. You only get the virus from contact with the blood of a victim while the virus is active, or after they die. It is not airborne, and it is not contagious during the incubation period, which is 21 days, IIRC.

 

90% of victims die, but it is survivable if detected and treated early.