How Ebola attacks the body

DALLAS, TX (KTRK) -- We've heard a lot about how you can catch Ebola and its symptoms, and now we are learning more about how it actually attacks the body.

Dr. Rodrigo Hasbun an infectious disease expert for UTHealth says once the Ebola virus makes its way into the body, it begins multiplying. It disables your immune and vascular systems by attacking cells in the liver and damages blood vessels, which can cause blood to leak from places like the nose, mouth and even eyes.

The patients blood pressure will eventually drop causing the body to go into shock, and in half the cases, the patient will die.

"Some patients do survive and again the most important thing right now is supportive care with fluids," says Dr. Hasbun.

That's what's happening for Nina Pham, the Dallas nurse being treated for Ebola.

Pham received a blood transfusion Monday from Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly. Doctors think the survivor's blood carries new antibodies that can help a patient overcome the virus.

Doctors say the blood transfusions aren't a cure but they are a start.