Little known, Little cared about facts..............?

Wow... thanks for the ebola virus report, Strawberrie. I've got some little-known facts too!

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty Rubble's Maiden name was Betty Jean Mcbricker.

AND OF COURSE

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time television were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

Studies show that if a cat falls off the seventh floor of a building it has about thirty percent less chance of surviving than a cat that falls off the twentieth floor. It supposedly takes about eight floors for the cat to realize what is occurring, relax and correct itself.

No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.

Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down - hence the expression "to get fired."

40% of all people who come to a party in your home snoop in your medicine cabinet.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

Are you foreign? A lot of foreign fathers don't understand the whole American culture. In other countries, it is absolutely socially unacceptable to date before you're of a certain age, maybe even older than 19, and a lot of times the father is 100% involved in the process.. If your father isn't American born, he may just be confused and unfamiliar with the culture here, and you should cut him a little slack and give him some time to come to terms with it. Try slipping him hints, like watching a movie with him where teenagers date, or telling him about your friend that has a boyfriend... If he's not foreign, then maybe you need to think about moving out, even if the money's not there, because he sounds abusive.

The Ebola River in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the headstream of the Mongala River (a tributary of the Congo River, formerly named the Zaïre River.

Ebola virus: A notoriously deadly virus that causes fearsome symptoms, the most prominent being high fever and massive internal bleeding. Ebola virus kills as many as 90% of the people it infects. It is one of the viruses that is capable of causing hemorrhagic (bloody) fever.

Epidemics of Ebola virus have occurred mainly in African countries including Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), Gabon, Uganda, the Ivory Coast, and Sudan. Ebola virus is a hazard to laboratory workers and, for that matter, anyone who is exposed to it.

Infection with Ebola virus in humans is incidental -- humans do not "carry" the virus. The way in which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak has not been determined. However, it has been hypothesized that the first patient (the index case) becomes infected through contact with an infected animal.

Ebola virus is transmitted by contact with blood, feces or body fluids from an infected person or by direct contact with the virus, as in a laboratory. People can be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person. This is why the virus has often been spread through the families and friends of infected persons: in the course of feeding, holding, or otherwise caring for them, family members and friends would come into close contact with such secretions. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions.

The incubation period --the period between contact with the virus and the appearance of symptoms -- ranges from 2 to 21 days.

The initial symptoms are usually high fever, headache, muscle aches, stomach pain, and diarrhea. There may also be sore throat, hiccups, and red and itchy eyes. The symptoms that tend to follow include vomiting and rash and bleeding problems with bloody nose (epistaxis), spitting up blood from the lungs (hemoptysis) and vomiting it up from the stomach (hematemesis), and bloody eyes (conjunctival hemorrhages). Then finally come chest pain, shock, and death.

A protein on the surface of the virus has been discovered that is responsible for the severe internal bleeding (the death-dealing feature of the disease). The protein attacks and destroys the endothelial cells lining blood vessels, causing the vessels to leak and bleed.

There is no specific treatment for the disease. Currently, patients receive supportive therapy. This consists of balancing the patient's fluids and electrolytes, maintaining their oxygen level and blood pressure, and treating them for any complicating infections. Death can occur within 10 days of the onset of symptoms.

The prevention of the spread of Ebola fever involves practical viral hemorrhagic fever isolation precautions, or barrier nursing techniques. These techniques include the wearing of protective clothing, such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles; the use of infection-control measures, including complete equipment sterilization; and the isolation of Ebola fever patients from contact with unprotected persons. The aim of all of these techniques is to avoid any person's contact with the blood or secretions of any patient. If a patient with Ebola fever dies, it is equally important that direct contact with the body of the deceased patient be prevented.