First Deadly Ebola Virus Patient in Honduras Taken to Hospital

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – According to the official, the unidentified patient was taken to a hospital late Friday in the city of Comayagua after exhibiting symptoms similar to Ebola. There, the US citizen, who has reportedly travelled to West Africa prior to arriving in Honduras this week, was isolated and placed under the supervision of trained physicians.

Later in the day, Deputy Minister of Health Francis Contreras confirmed this was the first suspected case of Ebola in the Central American country, but reassured the situation is under the control of authorities.

The World Health Organization estimated Thursday the total number of people killed by the virus exceeded 10,000 out of 24,350 infected since the outbreak that began in southern Guinea in December 2013, then spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal.

On Friday, another US citizen was transported to a hospital in Maryland after testing positive for the virus in Sierra Leone. The health worker's status was classified as serious.

The Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids or tissue of an infected person or animal. Symptoms include weakness, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and the sudden onset of fever followed by vomiting, diarrhea and in some cases, internal and external bleeding.

Specific treatment or a scientifically tested vaccine against Ebola currently does not exist. A number of countries, including Russia, the United States, Japan and China, are developing a vaccine for the deadly virus.