Ebola: Prevention, Protection, Spread

Ebola HF - it is here. Now what?

CDC & WHO Recommendations for Ebola transmission prevention and protection: Ebola: Protective measures for general public - What you need to know The risk of Ebola transmission is low. Becoming infected requires direct, physical contact with the bodily fluids (vomit, faeces, urine, blood, semen, etc.) of people who have been infected with or died from Ebola virus disease (EVD). To protect yourself, your family, and your community from EVD transmission, immediately report to the nearest health facility if you develop symptoms indicative of EVD, including high fever, body aches, joint pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, or haemorrhaging. Isolation and professional clinical treatment increase a person’s chance of survival.

Only people who have been sick with Ebola virus disease and recovered from this traumatic experience can explain what it was like and what their needs were during the illness. That is why a group of 6 Ebola survivors were asked to play a critical role in a new training programme for health workers on Ebola care, which was established by WHO in consultation with the Ministry of Health and with support from USAID. There is no FDA-approved vaccine available for Ebola. If you travel to or are in an area affected by an Ebola outbreak, make sure to do the following:

Practice careful hygiene. For example, wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and avoid contact with blood and body fluids.

Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids (such as clothes, bedding, needles, and medical equipment).

Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling the body of someone who has died from Ebola.

Avoid contact with bats and nonhuman primates or blood, fluids, and raw meat prepared from these animals.

Avoid hospitals where Ebola patients are being treated. The U.S. embassy or consulate is often able to provide advice on facilities.

After you return, monitor your health for 21 days and seek medical care immediately if you develop symptoms of Ebola.

EBOLA SYMPTOMS

Symptoms of Ebola include

Fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)

Severe headache

Muscle pain

Weakness

Diarrhea

Vomiting

Abdominal (stomach) pain

Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)

Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days. Recovery from Ebola depends on good supportive clinical care and the patient’s immune response. People who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years.

Healthcare workers who may be exposed to people with Ebola should follow these steps:

Wear protective clothing, including masks, gloves, gowns, and eye protection.

Practice proper infection control and sterilization measures. For more information, see “Infection Control for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers in the African Health Care Setting”.
Isolate patients with Ebola from other patients.
Avoid direct contact with the bodies of people who have died from Ebola.
Notify health officials if you have had direct contact with the blood or body fluids, such as but not limited to, feces, saliva, urine, vomit, and semen of a person who is sick with Ebola. The virus can enter the body through broken skin or unprotected mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth

Fulfilling an urgent need

With the number of people infected with Ebola escalating at an alarming rate in Liberia, the Ministry of Health, WHO and other partners are racing to train a sufficient number of health workers to care for Ebola patients while avoiding the risk of becoming infected themselves. “We realized that we need a new training programme that will be able to prepare 400 health workers over the coming weeks to be rapidly deployed into the new and existing Ebola treatment units,” explains Dr Abdikamal Alisalad, WHO Training Coordinator. “This first training course is planned to be replicated in future in other training centres in different parts of the country.” The first group of health workers began the course, which is designed for 50 participants, in early October. Participants are being selected by the Ministry of Health, and many health workers have volunteered to be considered.

“This training will teach me how to help my people and how I can protect myself while caring for others.”
Zainab Sirleaf, nurse and participant in the WHO Ebola training programme

The training courses run on a rolling schedule. During the second week of the training programme (following the exercises in the mock treatment unit), participants are deployed to functioning Ebola treatment units in Monrovia where they work under supervision of qualified medical personnel. At the end of the second week, they receive a certificate qualifying them for employment in Ebola treatment units. While the group starts their mentored work the second week, a new group of 50 trainees begins the course. The best-performing candidates from each group will be asked to serve as facilitators in future sessions.

Ebola Ebola virus disease is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. Fact sheet on Ebola

H2HIn the 2014 Ebola outbreak, nearly all of the cases of EVD are a result of human-to-human transmission. Frequently asked questions

2 to 21 days The incubation period from time of infection to symptoms is 2 to 21 days. Travel guidance for health authorities and the transport sector