The outbreak of Ebola centered in West Africa is certainly frightening. While it is the largest outbreak to date, having claimed the lives of many around the globe, we need to know a few facts that might help alleviate some of the panic festering deep inside.
Even with its high fatality rate, Ebola is not as serious as a threat as we’re being made to believe. Know the facts. Hit the gallery for some key information on the virus as it relates to citizens in the United States.
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Photo: AP Photo / WENN
Is it airborne?
Contrary to popular belief, Ebola is not contracted through the air.
Ebola can be passed through food?
FALSE. You can’t get Ebola through food.
It’s only transmittable through bodily fluids.
Precisely. Only by touching the blood or body fluids of someone who is sick with or has died from Ebola can one get it.
What about needles?
Yes. You can also get Ebola by touching contaminated objects, like needles.
Animals…
Can unfortunately pass it to humans as well. By touching infected animals, their blood, fluids or meat, one can get Ebola.
It’s NOT a risk to the GENERAL American public.
“If you don’t have early viral symptoms, you’re probably not contagious,” says David C. Pigott, MD, professor of emergency medicine at the UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA. 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.
No vaccine.
Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent Ebola.
In development.
Reportedly, patients are being treated with a drug that’s still under study.
Does the United States screen for Ebola cases?
Yes. According to the CDC, five major U.S. international airports now screen patients coming from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone for fever and possible Ebola exposure.
Infectious versus contagious…
Ebola is extremely infectious, but not extremely contagious. It’s considered moderately contagious, because the virus is not transmitted through the air. The most contagious diseases, such as measles or influenza, virus particles are airborne.
