The following information was distributed by Womack Army Medical Center to their patients through the Relay Health system. It provides good, solid information regarding concerns over the Ebola virus: The health and safety of our Soldiers and Beneficiaries is our priority. For that reason, Army Medicine is providing some important information regarding communicable diseases, particularly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), you should find helpful toward safeguarding your health. Many communicable diseases may be present at this time of year including, but not limited to, common colds and coughs, sore throats, and flu or flu-like illness. Many of these diseases, including EVD, have similar symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, and vomiting. Due to media attention to the current Ebola outbreak, there is increasing concern that Soldiers and Beneficiaries who have one or more of the previously mentioned symptoms, along with a potential exposure to the Ebola virus may be showing symptoms of EVD. Here are some important facts about Ebola virus disease: - To become infected, you must have direct contact with an infected persons bodily fluids, such as blood or secretions. - You cannot contract Ebola virus simply by being in the same room with an infected person. - Ebola is not spread through the air. - Ebola is not spread through water or food. The risk of contracting EVD in the United States is extremely low. The disease can only be contracted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person or by direct contact with certain animals in the endemic areas. Symptoms of EVD include a temperature equal to or greater than 100.4 degrees (or feeling like you have a fever), severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. Fever, or feeling feverish, is usually the first symptom and symptoms begin to appear anytime between 2 and 21 days after exposure. If you or someone you know has traveled to a country in Africa currently experiencing the Ebola outbreak (such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Guinea) or you have been exposed to someone you believe may have EVD and are concerned that you may have been exposed or have symptoms of the disease, please call your primary care provider or nearest emergency room for guidance. Primary care providers at military clinics may also be contacted by email through the Army Medicine Secure Messaging Service powered by Relay Health. If you need advice regarding Ebola virus disease and your primary care providers office is closed, please use the following resources: For frequently asked questions regarding EVD, please call the 24/7 Army Medicine Ebola Information Line at 1-800-984-8523, DSN 421-3700, OCONUS DSN 312-421-3700; for medical questions, to include any symptoms you are having that you feel may be related to EVD, please call the 24f7 Army Medicine Nurse Advice Line at 1-800-874-2273. For additional, up-to-date information regarding the Ebola outbreak and Ebola virus disease, visit any of the following websites: US Army Public Health Commands Ebola Virus Disease webpage: phc.amedd.army.milltopics/discond/diseases/Pages/EbolaVirusDisease.aspx Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Ebola site: cdc.gov/vhf/ebolaAndex.html?s_cid=cdc_homepage_feature_001 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Ebola Outbreak 2014 ): sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/ebola_2014.html#a6 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Ebola Outbreak 2014 ): phe.gov/Preparedness/responders/ebola/Pages/default/aspx World Health Organization (WHO) Ebola Virus Disease website: who.int/csr/disease/ebola/en/ United States Africa Command Preventing and Understand Ebola webpage: africom.mil/preventing-and-understanding-ebola
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:18:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015