While the media is full of Ebola updates, other concerns should not be forgotten this Fall. Enterovirus, Rabbit Fever and other concerns are actually more likely to affect Americans directly than Ebola. Of course, too, we are at the beginning of cough, could and flu season - so it's time to get ready for that.

Have a safe and healthy Halloween.

Make Halloween festivities fun, safe, and healthy for trick-or-treaters and party guests.

Read these tips and articles:

• Halloween does not have to be dangerous
• Halloween Safety
• Halloween Fire
• Trick or Treat?
• Our Customers Laugh at Us: And We Like It!
• Bats & Ebola

ake steps to prevent the flu.

The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year in the fall. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands often. Stay home if you get sick.

• Flu Season Is Around the Corner
• Seasonal Flu Vaccination
• Take 3 Actions to Fight the Flu -

  CDC urges you to take the following actions to protect yourself and others from influenza (the flu): 

  
  

  Take time to get a flu vaccine.

  

  • CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses.
  • While there are many different flu viruses, a flu vaccine protects against the three or four viruses that research suggests will be most common. (See upcoming season’s Vaccine Virus Selection for this season’s vaccine composition.)
  • Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations and deaths.
  • Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine as soon as the current season's vaccines are available.
  • Vaccination of high risk persons is especially important to decrease their risk of severe flu illness.
  • People at high risk of serious flu complications include young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease and people 65 years and older.
  • Vaccination also is important for health care workers, and other people who live with or care for high risk people to keep from spreading flu to high risk people.
  • Children younger than 6 months are at high risk of serious flu illness, but are too young to be vaccinated. People who care for them should be vaccinated instead.
  
  

  Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs.

  

  • Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  • If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
  • While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu.
  • See Everyday Preventive Actions[257 KB, 2 pages] and Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) for more information about actions – apart from getting vaccinated and taking medicine – that people and communities can take to help slow the spread of illnesses like influenza (flu).
  
  

  Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them.

  

  • If you get the flu, antiviral drugs can treat your illness.
  • Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics. They are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaled powder) and are not available over-the-counter.
  • Antiviral drugs can make illness milder and shorten the time you are sick. They may also prevent serious flu complications. For people with high risk factors[702 KB, 2 pages], treatment with an antiviral drug can mean the difference between having a milder illness versus a very serious illness that could result in a hospital stay.
  • Studies show that flu antiviral drugs work best for treatment when they are started within 2 days of getting sick, but starting them later can still be helpful, especially if the sick person has a high-risk health or is very sick from the flu. Follow your doctor’s instructions for taking this drug.
  • Flu-like symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, and have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

Get smart about antibiotics.

Antibiotics can cure bacterial infections, but not viral infections. The common cold and the flu are viral infections, so avoid using antibiotics if you have one of these. Using antibiotics when they are not needed causes some bacteria to become resistant to the antibiotic, and therefore stronger and harder to kill. See your doctor or nurse to find out if your illness is bacterial or viral.

• Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work

What should you use to protect against Ebola Virus infection? The CDC released new guidelines specifically for the current epidemic.

Remember that Ebola is spread through direct contact (e.g., through broken skin or through mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, or mouth) with blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola or with objects (e.g., needles, syringes) that have been contaminated with the virus.

Ebola Fact Sheet

The CDC recommends this type of sanitizer/disinfectant:

• Use a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered hospital disinfectant with a label claim for a non-enveloped virus (e.g., norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, poliovirus) to disinfect environmental surfaces in rooms of patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus infection. Although there are no products with specific label claims against the Ebola virus, enveloped viruses such as Ebola are susceptible to a broad range of hospital disinfectants used to disinfect hard, non-porous surfaces. In contrast, non-enveloped viruses are more resistant to disinfectants. As a precaution, selection of a disinfectant product with a higher potency than what is normally required for an enveloped virus is being recommended at this time. EPA-registered hospital disinfectants with label claims against non-enveloped viruses (e.g., norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, poliovirus) are broadly antiviral and capable of inactivating both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses.
• Sanizide Germicidal Solution is a disinfectant with label claims against non-enveloped viruses (Norovirus & Poliovirus)

The following procedures provide detailed guidance on the types of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used and on the processes for donning and doffing (i.e., putting on and removing) PPE for all healthcare workers entering the room of a patient hospitalized with Ebola virus disease (Ebola). The guidance in this document reflects lessons learned from the recent experiences of U.S. hospitals caring for Ebola patients and emphasizes the importance of training, practice, competence, and observation of healthcare workers in correct donning and doffing of PPE selected by the facility.

This guidance contains the following key principles:

1. Prior to working with Ebola patients, all healthcare workers involved in the care of Ebola patients must have received repeated training and have demonstrated competency in performing all Ebola-related infection control practices and procedures, and specifically in donning/doffing proper PPE.
2. While working in PPE, healthcare workers caring for Ebola patients should have no skin exposed.
3. The overall safe care of Ebola patients in a facility must be overseen by an onsite manager at all times, and each step of every PPE donning/doffing procedure must be supervised by a trained observer to ensure proper completion of established PPE protocols.

Continue reading →

Here's a free video about Ebola for you. Many have been wondering about this modern plague.

According to the CDC, Ebola is not spread through the air or by water, or in general, by food. However, in Africa, Ebola may be spread as a result of handling bushmeat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats. There is no evidence that mosquitos or other insects can transmit Ebola virus. Only mammals (for example, humans, bats, monkeys, and apes) have shown the ability to become infected with and spread Ebola virus.

We don’t like to add to the media flurry and scare-mongering, which is why we’ve pointed out that at present the risk and rate of Ebola are relatively low, but if you are concerned about contracting the disease, Bloodborne Pathogen Protection is more likely to help avoid transmission than normal Pandemic Protection Supplies you would use against Germs, Flu and Airborne Diseases..

Later today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center expects to admit  the first nurse who contracted the Ebola virus at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital while providing patient care to the index patient who died of Ebola. The nurse is being admitted to the Special Clinical Studies Unit of the NIH Clinical Center at the request of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.  She will receive state-of-the-art care in this high-level containment facility, which is one of a small number of such facilities in the United States.

The NIH Clinical Center’s Special Clinical Studies Unit is specifically designed to provide high-level isolation capabilities and is staffed by infectious diseases and critical care specialists. The unit staff is trained in strict infection control practices optimized to prevent spread of potentially transmissible agents such as Ebola.  No additional details about the patient are being shared at this time.

NIH is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our patients, NIH staff, and the public.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health^®

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The number of infected continues to rise in what has been clearly defined as the worst outbreak of deadly Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in History.

While the CDC and WHO struggle to contain the out break and work toward treatment or cure, Humanitarian groups like UNICEF make efforts to educate with ambitious public information campaigns aiming to reach every household in outbreak areas. In Sierra Leone UNICEF reached out with life-saving messages on Ebola September 19-21 in a bid to reduce the spread of the disease with the help of community members. UNICEF has provided the Government-led campaign with technical and financial support, including information materials.

Sierra Leone, one of the countries in West Africa affected by the largest Ebola outbreak in history, launched a three-day campaign to raise awareness of the disease and help prevent its further spread. "The campaign actually is hinged around dispelling the rumors, is hinged around increasing the knowledge and promoting behavior change," explains UNICEF Health Specialist Edmond Bankiu. "Ebola is ... infringing on ... people's social and traditional practices. ... We are really worried that the number of cases are doomed to increase." During the campaign, trained social mobilizers, youths and volunteers went door-to-door to reach 1.5 million households across the country. Ensuring residents know how to protect themselves and other from the disease is critical to curtailing the unprecedented outbreak.

Ebola: "Worried that the number of cases are doomed to increase" Watch the Video:

UNICEF tells us how they avoid contact, infection and spread of Ebola:

What does it take to fight Ebola?

West Africa is currently fighting the largest Ebola outbreak in history. What does it take to fight the deadly disease?

It is tragically ironic that just as images of Bats are appearing everywhere for Halloween, the first death by Ebola in the US occurred.

The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, Thomas Eric Duncan, died Wednesday morning, October 8, 2014 according to the Dallas hospital where he was being treated.

Bats are the likely hosts of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. Ebola is not spread through the air or by water, or in general, by food. However, in Africa, Ebola may be spread as a result of handling bushmeat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats. There is no evidence that mosquitos or other insects can transmit Ebola virus. Only mammals (for example, humans, bats, monkeys, and apes) have shown the ability to become infected with and spread Ebola virus.

The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history
This outbreak is affecting multiple countries in West Africa, and CDC has confirmed the first travel-associated case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States. About half the people who have gotten Ebola in this outbreak have died.

Although the risk of Ebola spreading in the United States is very low, CDC and its partners are taking actions to prevent this from happening.

A person infected with Ebola can’t spread the disease until symptoms appear
The time from exposure to when signs or symptoms of the disease appear
(the incubation period) is 2 to 21 days, but the average time is 8 to 10 days.

Signs of Ebola include fever (higher than 101.5°F) and symptoms like severe
headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, or unexplained
bleeding or bruising.

Ebola is spread through direct contact with blood and body fluids
When an infection does occur in humans, the virus can be spread in several ways to others. Ebola is spread through direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth) with

• Blood and body fluids (like urine, feces, saliva, vomit, sweat, and semen)
  of a person who is sick with Ebola.
• Objects (like needles) that have been contaminated with the blood or
  body fluids of a person sick with Ebola.

Ebola is not spread through the air, water, or food.

We recognize that even a single case of Ebola in the United States seems threatening, but the simple truth is that we do know how to stop the spread of Ebola between people
—Beth Bell, MD, MPH, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

Protect yourself against Ebola
There is no FDA-approved vaccine available for Ebola. Experimental vaccines
and treatments for Ebola are under development, but they have not yet been
fully tested for safety or effectiveness.

To protect yourself from Ebola:

• DO wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based
  hand sanitizer.
• Do NOT touch the blood or body fluids (like urine, feces, saliva, vomit,
  sweat, and semen) of people who are sick.
• Do NOT handle items that may have come in contact with a sick
  person’s blood or body fluids, like clothes, bedding, needles,
  or medical equipment.
• Do NOT touch the body of someone who has died of Ebola.

Read more about Ebola HF:

• Ebola: Prevention, Protection, Spread
• Ebola
• Ebola From Pigs to Monkeys

Sequence for Putting On and Removing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

What to do if you are exposed to Ebola
If you have traveled to an area with an Ebola outbreak or had close
contact with a person sick with Ebola, you may be at risk if you

• Had direct contact with blood or body fluids or items that came into contact
  with blood or body fluids from a person with Ebola.
• Touched bats or nonhuman primates (like apes or monkeys) or blood, fluids,
  or raw meat prepared from these animals.
• Went into hospitals where Ebola patients were being treated and had
  close contact with the patients.
• Touched the body of a person who died of Ebola.

Health advisory for airline travelers
You should check for signs and symptoms of Ebola for 21 days

• Take your temperature every morning and evening.
• Watch for other Ebola symptoms, like severe headache, muscle pain,
  vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, or unexplained bleeding or bruising.
• Call your doctor even if you do not have symptoms. The doctor can
  evaluate your exposure level and any symptoms and consult with public
  health authorities to determine if actions are needed.
  During the time that you are watching for signs and symptoms, you can
  continue your normal activities, including going to work.

If you get sick after you come back from an area with an Ebola outbreak

• Get medical care RIGHT AWAY if you have a fever (higher than 101.5°F),
  severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, or
  unexplained bleeding or bruising.
• Tell your doctor about your recent travel to West Africa or contact with
  a person who was sick with Ebola and your symptoms BEFORE you go
  to the doctor’s office or emergency room. Calling before you go to the
  doctor’s office or emergency room will help the staff care for you and
  protect other people.

Ebola Factsheet

Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) is one of numerous Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers. It is a severe, often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).

An American aid worker infected with the deadly Ebola virus while in Liberia arrived in the United States from West Africa on August 2, 2014.

Despite concern among some in the United States over bringing Ebola patients to the country, health officials have said there is no risk to the public. He was escorted into an Atlanta hospital, wearing a bio-hazard suit, for treatment in a special isolation unit.

See Pandemic Protection Products - features items recommended by the CDC, WHO, and American Red Cross

The facility at Emory, set up with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is one of only four in the country with the facilities to deal with such cases.

A second infected member of the group, missionary Nancy Writebol, will be brought to the United States on a later flight, as the medical aircraft is equipped to carry only one patient at a time.

Brantly is a 33-year-old father of two young children. Writebol is a 59-year-old mother of two.

CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds said this week that the agency was not aware of any Ebola patient ever being treated in the United States previously. But five people in the past decade have entered the country with either Lassa Fever or Marburg Fever, hemorrhagic fevers that are similar to Ebola.

Genetic analysis of the virus indicates that it is closely related (97% identical) to variants of Ebola virus (species Zaire ebolavirus) identified earlier in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon

The World Health Organization, in partnership with the Ministries of Health in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Nigeria announced a cumulative total of 1603 suspect and confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and 887 deaths, as of August 1, 2014. Of the 1603 clinical cases, 1009 cases have been laboratory confirmed for Ebola virus infection.

In Guinea, 485 cases, including 358 fatal cases and 340 laboratory confirmations of EVD, were reported by the Ministry of Health of Guinea and WHO as of August 1, 2014. Active surveillance continues in Conakry, Guéckédou, Boffa, Pita, Siguiri, and Kourourssa Districts.

In Sierra Leone, WHO and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone reported a cumulative total of 646 suspect and confirmed cases of EHF as of August 1, 2014. Of these 646, 540 cases have been laboratory confirmed and 273 were fatal. Districts reporting clinical EVD patients include Kailahun, Kenema, Kambia, Port Loko, Bo and Western Area, which includes the capital, Freetown. More recently, Tonkolili, Bambali, Moyamba, Bonthe, and Punjehun Districts have also reported confirmed cases of EVD. Reports, investigations, and testing of suspect cases continue across the country.

As of August 1, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Liberia and WHO reported 468 clinical cases of EVD, including 129 laboratory confirmations and 255 fatal cases. Suspect and confirmed cases have been reported from Lofa, Montserado, Margibi, Bomi, Bong, Nimba, RiverCess, Grand Cape Mount, and Grand Bassa Counties. Laboratory testing is being conducted in Monrovia.

In Nigeria, WHO and the Nigerian Ministry of Health reported 1 probable fatal case and 4 suspect cases as of August 1, 2014.

CDC is in regular communication with all of the Ministries of Health (MOH), WHO, MSF, and other partners regarding the outbreak. Currently CDC has personnel in all four countries assisting the respective MOHs and the WHO-led international response to this Ebola outbreak.

Based on reports from the Ministry of Heath of Guinea, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Liberia, the Ministry of Health of Nigeria, and WHO.

Prevention

The prevention of Ebola HF presents many challenges. Because it is still unknown how exactly people are infected with Ebola HF, there are few established primary prevention measures.

When cases of the disease do appear, there is increased risk of transmission within health care settings. Therefore, health care workers must be able to recognize a case of Ebola HF and be ready to employ practical viral hemorrhagic fever isolation precautions or barrier nursing techniques. They should also have the capability to request diagnostic tests or prepare samples for shipping and testing elsewhere.

MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) health staff in protective clothing constructing perimeter for isolation ward.

Barrier nursing techniques include:

• wearing of protective clothing (such as masks, gloves, gowns, and goggles)
• the use of infection-control measures (such as complete equipment sterilization and routine use of disinfectant)
• isolation of Ebola HF patients from contact with unprotected persons.

The aim of all of these techniques is to avoid contact with the blood or secretions of an infected patient. If a patient with Ebola HF dies, it is equally important that direct contact with the body of the deceased patient be prevented.

CDC, in conjunction with the World Health Organization, has developed a set of guidelines to help prevent and control the spread of Ebola HF. Entitled Infection Control for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers In the African Health Care Setting, the manual describes how to:

• recognize cases of viral hemorrhagic fever (such as Ebola HF)
• prevent further transmission in health care setting by using locally available materials and minimal financial resources.

Personal Protection

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