Are You At Risk?

After two nurses in the United States contracted Ebola while working at a hospital that had an Ebola patient and they had direct contact with the patient has made it so everyone is worried about catching Ebola and the possibility of it becoming an epidemic.

Experts contend that the chances of contracting the disease in the United States remain low, there are still a few myths and facts that you should know about Ebola to educate yourself and to protect yourself from catching the disease.

The first myth is that Ebola is transmitted by the air. This is false as the Ebola virus is not transmitted by the air because it is not a respiratory virus. The virus is only contracted when someone is in direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids directly or through contaminated objects. This is how the two nurses contracted the disease as they were in direct contact with both bodily fluids as well as contaminated objects. The bodily fluids from an infected person that can cause Ebola are:

The second Myth is that the symptoms of the Ebola Virus Are Unique from Other Diseases

The problem with Ebola is the symptoms are hard to diagnose and most people pass it off as they think they have the flu. The most common symptoms include:

The problem with these symptoms is that they are similar symptoms to other diseases like the flu for example.

To prevent yourself from contracting Ebola and resulting in those symptoms avoid contact of bodily fluids from an infected person and you should not travel to areas where the Ebola virus is concentrated.

The Third Myth about Ebola is that if you contract the disease that you would know right away.

There are many diseases that have delayed symptoms after exposure to the virus. Dr.’s and scientist have stated that the incubation period is 8-10 days on average, but it can also be from 2-21 days as well. This means that if you have had potential exposure with someone that is infected by Ebola means that the symptoms may not appear up to three weeks after exposure to the virus.

The Fourth Myth is that someone can pass the Ebola virus to another person before they show any symptoms

That myth is false. You can only contract the Ebola virus from those that have symptoms. Also, you can contract the virus is that it can be transmitted from a dead body of someone that had the virus. This means if you work in a funeral home and you are handling the deceased Ebola victim’s body you are at risk for catching the virus as well.

The Fifth Myth about Ebola Is that there is a cure for Ebola.

That is false.

Currently there isn’t a cure for Ebola and the death rate for those infected is very high as 90 percent. Very few people that contract the Ebola live but there are some patients that recover through supportive care but this is very rare.

The two nurses that contracted the Ebola virus and lived received experimental drugs that saved their lives. The drugs are currently being researched in order to test their safety and how effective they are. Scientist remain optimistic that these potential treatments will become the cure for Ebola but they need to do more testing to ensure that it is safe.