Preventive Measures of Ebola Virus

How to Prevent Ebola Virus?

Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever is a nasty, often lethal illness in humans. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. The average EVD case death rate is around 50%. Case death rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. The first EVD outbreaks occurred in isolated villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests, but the most current outbreak in West Africa has involved major urban as well as rural areas.

Community rendezvous is a key to successfully controlling outbreaks. Good outbreak organize relies on applying a package of interventions, namely case management, examinations and contact tracing, a good laboratory service, safe burials and social mobilisation. Early supportive care with rehydration, symptomatic treatment improves survival. There is as yet no licensed treatment proven to neutralise the virus but a range of blood, immunological and drug therapies are under development. There are currently no licensed Ebola vaccines but 2 potential candidates are undergoing evaluation.

What is Ebola?

Ebola is a lethal disease caused by a virus. There are five strains, and four of them can make people sick. After entering the body, it kills cells, making some of them explode. It wrecks the immune system, causes heavy bleeding inside the body, and damages almost every organ.  The virus is scary, but it’s also rare. You can get it only from direct contact with an infected person’s body fluids.

There is no approved vaccine for Ebola.

If you travel to or are in an area affected by an Ebola outbreak, make sure to do the following:

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

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

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

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

5. Avoid facilities in West Africa where Ebola patients are being treated. The U.S. embassy or consulate is often able to give advice on facilities.

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

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

7. Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

8. Practice proper infection control and sterilization measures.

9. Isolate patients with Ebola from other patients.

10. Stay away from direct, unprotected contact with the bodies of people who have died from Ebola.

11. Inform health officials if you have had made 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.