The World Health Organization has warned that "drastic action" is needed to halt the killer in its tracks.
It reports there have been 759 cases, including 467 deaths, in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia as of June 30. The outbreak began in March.
This makes it the "largest in terms of the number of cases and deaths as well as geographical spread," said WHO. But nothing, it seems, is being done in the event that it gets to Nigeria.
This strain of the Ebola virus can kill up to 90% of those infected.
The scientist who first discovered the Ebola virus in the 1970s, Dr. Peter Piot, told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that the situation is "unprecedented."
"One, [this is] the first time in West Africa that we have such an outbreak," he said. "Secondly, it is the first time that three countries are involved. And thirdly it's the first time that we have outbreaks in capitals, in capital cities."
Ebola is a violent killer. The symptoms, at first, mimic the flu: headache, fever, fatigue. What comes next sounds like something out of a horror movie: significant diarrhea and vomiting, while the virus shuts off the blood's ability to clot. As a result, patients often suffer internal and external hemorrhaging. Many die in an average of 10 days.
People are traveling without realizing they're carrying the deadly virus. It can take between two and 21 days after exposure for someone to feel sick.
The good news is that Ebola isn't as easily spread as one may think. A patient isn't contagious -- meaning they can't spread the virus to other people -- until they are already showing symptoms. Then, the disease is transmitted by direct contact with the blood and body fluids of infected animals or people, according to WHO.
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