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Hello and welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service.

I'm Ruth Alexander and if you've been listening to the news lately

you could be forgiven for feeling worried.

A big outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa.

The largest Ebola outbreak in history.

There is no treatment or vaccine.

Ebola is probably the most contagious and most deadly virus in the world.

The strain can kill up to 90% of its victims.

Most of those who get it will die through uncontrollable bleeding.

The outbreak of the lethal Ebola virus has spread in West Africa,

affecting Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

As we heard there, this is the deadliest outbreak of the disease to date,

killing almost a thousand people so far.

And as a deadly virus with a graphic effect,

it seems the stuff of those dramatic Hollywood films about deadly viral pandemics.

But before we panic, let's think.

Because more or less listener Max Cousins has been in touch with a question.

A widely reported statistic is that Ebola kills up to 90% of those infected.

...