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West Africa is struggling with the worst Ebola outbreak on record, and two U.S. nurses have contracted the disease treating a Liberian man who died in Texas. A nurse in Spain was infected while caring for two priests, who both died of Ebola.

Ebola has killed 4,493 people, or about 50 percent of the known 8,997 cases,

Experimental vaccines and treatments for Ebola are under development, but they have not yet been fully tested for safety or effectiveness.

France is treating a UN employee who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone, the health ministry said on Sunday. “This person, who worked in Sierra Leone in the fight against Ebola, has undergone a secure medical evacuation by specialised aircraft,” the ministry said in a statement.

Focusing on the cases of two dogs can seem trivial compared to the 4,000 people in West Africa who have died from Ebola this year.

Some studies have shown that dogs may experience asymptomatic Ebola infections, the CDC says -- meaning they may have the virus but don't get sick. Also, the agency says, human infections haven't been linked to dogs.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control owns a patent on a particular strain of Ebola known as “EboBun.” It’s patent No. CA2741523A1 and it was awarded in 2010. You can view it here. (Thanks to Natural News readers who found this and brought it to our attention.) Patent applicants are clearly described on the patent as including: The Government Of The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary, Department Of Health & Human Services, Center For Disease Control. The patent summary says, “The invention provides the isolated human Ebola (hEbola) viruses denoted as Bundibugyo (EboBun) deposited with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”; Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America) on November 26, 2007 and accorded an accession number 200706291.” It goes on to state, “The present invention is based upon the isolation and identification of a new human Ebola virus species, EboBun. EboBun was isolated from the patients suffering from hemorrhagic fever in a recent outbreak in Uganda.”

2014 Outbreak:(Full historical timeline at bottom)Cases listed below include confirmed, probable or suspected cases of Ebola as of November 4, 2014 (World Health Organization and CDC): Guinea - 1760 cases, 1054 deaths Liberia - 6619 cases, 2766 deaths Mali - 1 case, 1 death (infection originated in Guinea) Nigeria - 20 cases, 8 deaths Senegal - 1 case, 0 deaths (infection originated in Guinea) Sierra Leone - 4862 cases, 1130 deaths Spain - 1 case, 0 deaths United States - 4 cases, 1 death (two infections originated in the United States, one in Liberia and one in Guinea)

The two nuns arrived Monday at 17.45 local time (23.45 GMT) at the Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport, located about 44 miles south of San Salvador, said Health Minister, Violeta Menjivar, in a meeting with the press international, but she did not specify the nationality of the missionaries. “Currently there are quarantined in a place to be determined by the Catholic church, and that they are being attended to daily. They are healthy, but they are being quarantined as a preventative measure against Ebola,” she added.

A 30-year-old hospital technician died of the Marburg virus this weekend in Uganda

A 30-year-old hospital technician died of the Marburg virus this weekend in Uganda, health officials there announced Sunday. Marburg, like Ebola, is a hemorrhagic fever. It's rare but severe. According to NBC's Monday report, officials in Uganda have quarantined about 80 people who came into contact with the victim, one of whom — the man's brother — has developed the early symptoms of the disease. Sixty of those quarantined are health-care workers.

Marburg and virulent Ebola viruses are maintained in hosts that are rare and have little contact with humans or do not readily transmit virus. Bats (particularly solitary microchiropteran species) are leading contenders as reservoir hosts. Virus transfer to humans occurs by contact with the primary reservoir or via an intermediate animal that acquired infection from the reservoir and is, in turn, hunted by humans. An interesting possibility is that filoviruses may be arthropod or plant viruses, with non—blood-feeding arthropods transmitting the virus to intermediate hosts or humans during oral ingestion or envenomation. Paradoxically, in Africa, Ebola virus disease has high lethality and high seroprevalence as determined by the IFA test. If the seroreactivity is confirmed by more specific tests, then the Ebola virus serogroup in Africa probably contains an antigenically cross-reactive, enzootic, nonpathogenic agent(s). Such viruses may have separate life cycles or may give rise to virulent strains by mutation.