Many people are alarmed with the news of Ebola reaching the US. The media is full of stories of possible other cases and the dangers of this infectious disease. People are scared but this fear is truly displaced. The vast majority of people will never be in the target zone of the infectivity of Ebola. Watching the news seems to tell a different story.
There are many rumors swirling around that there is a possibility that Ebola can be air-borne and thus spread by respiratory droplets, much like the common cold. If this were the case, there would be many more victims in the affected countries that what we have been seeing. Airborne spread of Ebola has not been seen and is simply not true at this point. You are not going to get Ebola just by sitting on a plane with someone who is infected.
Ebola has been shown to be spread only by direct contact with the victim’s bodily fluids. It may seem, thus, that it should be easy to avoid if precautions are taken. However, Ebola patients tend to lose large amounts of bodily fluids through vomiting, blood loss, etc. And it doesn’t take a large amount of viral particles to infect someone. Just a small amount can cause infection. While precautions are now being taken, victims in the countries of origin don’t have the equipment necessary to protect themselves. Even healthcare workers have been infected after minimal exposures. Recently, an American journalist became infected after helping to clean out a car that carried an Ebola victim. A person doesn’t necessarily need to come in contact with the person carrying Ebola, just their bodily fluids.
Patients do not become contagious until they start having symptoms. So, the gentleman who arrived in Dallas and then became ill was not infective to anyone on the same plane that he traveled on to come to the US. He only became ill after being here a few days and that is why all the people he came into contact after showing symptoms are now quarantined. People can carry the Ebola virus for 21 days and that is why the quarantine is for this period of time. If after 21 days from the possible exposure the person doesn’t have any symptoms, it is safe to assume there is no Ebola infection.
Many people in West Africa became infected while taking care of the dead victims. The virus can linger on afterwards. Also, many workers and volunteers contracted the virus from cleaning up afterwards. Precautions need to be taken around anywhere an Ebola victim may have excreted any bodily fluids.
While the media hype continues, few people truly have to fear coming into contact with the Ebola virus. The CDC and other world health agencies are on heightened alert. A recent flight landed in Newark, NJ and held until a sick passenger was cleared of an Ebola diagnosis. Researchers are working in erst to find a cure and/or vaccine. Volunteers are flocking to West Africa to halt the spread and even military units were sent to help in this battle. While most of us can rest assured that we will never be in danger of Ebola, let’s hope those suffering will find relief and the it will be halted in its tracks.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Linda Girgis, MD, FAAFP
