What Is Ebola Virus?
1. What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Ebola?
The appearance of symptoms is different among patients with the Ebola virus. With a standard incubation period of two to 21 days, some patients may present with a fever or muscle pain almost immediately, but others may not show any signs until day 21 with the rapid development of a fever.
The infection typically progresses through two phases: the dry and wet phase. During the dry stage, patients experience headaches, sore throat, muscle pain, fever and intense weakness. The secondary phase, or the wet phase, presents with symptoms of a rash, diarrhea, vomiting, impaired kidneys and liver function. In the final stages of the disease, some patients will experience internal and external bleeding. If the illness does not deplete a patient’s immune system after these initial phases, they may survive the infection, but survival may come with its own limitations.
