1 Watch the video and put the
words into the gaps in the text.
Recently there’s been an
1_____ of Ebola in Guinea.
The 2_____ made a leap from remote, forested areas to the capital, causing
widespread fear. At the time of writing there were 127 confirmed cases, 87 of
whom had died. There are further 3____ outside Guinea
in the neighbouring Sierra Leone
and Liberia.
It’s been described as an 4_____ on a scale never seen before. But what the
hell is it?
The Ebola virus causes Ebola 5____ disease, or EVD. It is one of the
most 6_____ diseases known to mankind. Ebola is actually a group of five
viruses: Bundibugyo ebolavirus, Zaire,
Reston, Sudan,
and Tai Forest. The outbreak in Guinea is one of the most deadly forms, the Zaire 7_____.
The Zaire
strain can have a 8_____ rate of up to 90 per cent. Ebola was first
identified in 1976 with two outbreaks that happened pretty much at the same
9_____. One was in Sudan
and the other was in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC outbreak
happened near the Ebola
River, which is where
the disease gets its 10 ____. And the most deadly outbreak ever was also in
DRC in 1995. That 11 ______ 254 people out of a total of 315 infected. That’s
an 81 percent mortality rate.
Ebola is found in fruit bats, chimpanzees, 12____, monkeys, forest
antelope and porcupines and it passes to humans through close 13_____ with
bodily fluids, blood and the organs of those 14____ mammals. So one of the
main ways that it’s introduced humans is by eating bush 15_____ - the meat of
dead or already ill animals. It’s then passed from human to human by direct
contact with blood, secretions, organs and bodily 16____, through broken skin
or mucous membranes. If a man is lucky enough to survive Ebola, he can still
transmit the disease for up to seven weeks afterwards through his semen.
That’s why the government in Guinea
has warned people about having sex, 17____ or even shaking hands at the
moment.
It can also be passed on via a 18____ body, if mourners have contact
with the deceased person. Health care workers are at particular risk because
of their 19____ contact with patients and that’s why the World Health Organisation have sent
3.5 tonnes of 20____ materials out to Guinea, which includes biohazard
suits, disinfectants and burial shrouds. Ebola first manifests itself with a
sudden fever, 21_____, muscular pains, headaches and sore throats. But that
quickly worsens, with symptoms including 22____, diarrhea, rash and
impairment of 23____ and liver function. In some cases internal and external
24_____ also occurs. It has an incubation period - that’s the time between
infection to the onset of symptoms - of just 2 to 21 days. Death is usually
caused by multiple organ failure, shock or loss of blood and happens soon
after infection.
There’s currently no vaccine - it’s not been a 25_____ for drugs
companies because it’s rare and happens in remote parts of Africa.
And if you want to have a 26_____ about the morals of that in the comments
section, please do. But the US
is funding the work on a vaccine, because there is no natural human immunity,
so it’s on their list of potential bio-terror 27_____. Ebola doesn’t tend to
spread too far, because it’s usually found in very remote areas of Africa, so quarantining is 28_____ easy.
The speed with which it kills also limits the virus’ 29____ to spread
too far. But this outbreak in the capital of Guinea, and with the cross border
spread, has got 30____ experts worried. It’s in a dense 31_____ area and has
spread across the borders in a way it never has before. But it’s unlikely to
travel across continents - first of all because 32_____ procedures are really
quite good these days and partly because the symptoms develop so quickly that
people are just too ill for plane travel.
So those are just some the facts about Ebola and
just in case there’s a media 33_____ about pandemics and everybody 34_____,
there’s a video over there about why that’s very, very 35_____ to happen and
why you shouldn’t fear anything at all.
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cases
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epidemic
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outbreak
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disease
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time
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virulent
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fatality
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name
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killed
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virus
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strain
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infected
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meat
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kissing
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contact
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gorillas
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fluids
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protective
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dead
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kidney
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bleeding
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close
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days
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weakness
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priority
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relatively
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discussion
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agents
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medical
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ability
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population
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quarantine
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frenzy
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unlikely
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dying
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2 Vocabulary focus. Study the words and word combinations, practise
their translation, spelling. Check your knowledge
in the test. Play vocabulary game and set your own vocabulary game record.
3 Mark the following statements as True or False.
1.
Ebola is actually a group of viruses.
2.
The Zaire
strain can have a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent.
3.
The outbreak of Ebola happened near the Ebola Mount,
which is where the disease gets its name.
4.
Death is usually caused by intense coughing and lung
failure.
5.
Organ function impairment, shock, fever or loss of
blood are among the symptoms of Ebola.
6.
People who survived Ebola cannot spread the virus.
7.
Dead bodies can be the source of infection.
8.
Ebola is found in cats and dogs.
9.
People can fall ill if they eat the meat of ill
animals.
10. Ebola can be found
in densely populated areas.
4 Answer the Questions.
1.
Is Ebola virus
one of the most virulent diseases known to mankind?
2.
When was Ebola virus first identified?
3.
Why cannot Ebola virus spread too far?
4.
What is the main way people can get Ebola virus?
5.
What is the incubation period for Ebola virus?
6.
Is there a vaccine to cure Ebola virus?
7.
What is done to prevent the spread of Ebola?
8.
What countries are affected by Ebola virus?
9.
What are the symptoms of Ebola disease?
10. How long does it
take for serious symptoms to develop?
