I felt that this needed to be Posted. I know some who are terrified about this scare. Please know that God has got this. Facts About Ebola By Jennifer J. Brown, PhD David C. Pigott, MD, professor of emergency medicine Amar Safdar, MD, associate professor in the DID and Immunology This emerging health threat is the result of a RNA (ribonucleic acid) virus that infects wild animals, like fruit bats, monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees, as well as people. Contact with an infected animal’s blood or body fluids is probably the original source of the infectious disease. Outbreaks of Ebola began in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the Ebola River, and Sudan, with later outbreaks in Uganda and other African nations, according to World Health Organization data. Ebola is not an airborne infection. “It is not a casual contact-acquired infection,” notes Safdar. Rather, in its later stages, Ebola is passed from person to person via bodily fluids. There is no known Ebola transmission through coughing or sneezing, like with influenza or tuberculosis, he says. The virus can live on surfaces that are soiled with blood or other body fluids, but sterilizing hospital equipment with bleach kills Ebola. Early symptoms include fever, headache, body aches, cough, stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Because these could be symptoms of other diseases, its difficult to diagnose Ebola early on. The time it takes from exposure to Ebola to actually getting sick, known as the incubation period, is anywhere from 2 to 21 days, says UABs Pigott. Most people who are infected with Ebola will develop early symptoms eight to nine days after exposure to the virus, according to the CDC. Tests for antibodies against Ebola and viral DNA help doctors make a conclusive diagnosis. You are not at risk for Ebola infection unless you are in direct contact with bodily fluids of someone with Ebola while they have viral symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and cough. “If you don’t have early viral symptoms, you’re probably not contagious,” says Pigott. New infections come from close contact with an infected person, especially with blood, body fluids, or contaminated needles, late in the disease when viral levels are high. To protect the U.S. public health, the CDC is building up their capacity for testing and surveillance, and getting infection control information out to health workers. They are training medical responders, flight crews and airport workers on how to report a sick passenger to the CDC in case isolation becomes necessary.
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 19:35:08 +0000
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