Prevention

Prevention focuses on avoiding contact with the viruses. The following precautions can help prevent infection and spread of Ebola.

Avoid areas of known outbreaks. Before traveling to Africa, find out about current epidemics by checking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Wash your hands frequently. As with other infectious diseases, one of the most important preventive measures is frequent hand-washing. Use soap and water, or use alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol when soap and water aren't available.

Reducing the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission from contact with infected fruit bats or monkeys/apes and the consumption of their raw meat. Animals should be handled with gloves and other appropriate protective clothing. Animal products (blood and meat) should be thoroughly cooked before consumption.

Avoid contact with infected people. In particular, caregivers should avoid contact with the person's body fluids and tissues, including blood, semen, vaginal secretions and saliva. People with Ebola are most contagious in the later stages of the disease.

Follow infection-control procedures. If you're a health care worker, wear protective clothing, such as gloves, masks, gowns and eye shields. Keep infected people isolated from others. Dispose of needles and sterilize other instruments.

Don't handle remains. The bodies of people who have died of Ebola disease are still contagious. Specially organized and trained teams should bury the remains, using appropriate safety equipment.


Signs And Symptoms
Signs and symptoms typically begin abruptly within five to 10 days of infection with Ebola virus. Early signs and symptoms include:

Fever
Severe headache
Joint and muscle aches
Chills
Weakness

Over time, symptoms become increasingly severe and may include:

Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea (may be bloody)
Red eyes
Raised rash
Chest pain and cough
Stomach pain
Severe weight loss
Bleeding, usually from the eyes, and bruising (people near death may bleed from other orifices, such as ears, nose and rectum)
Internal bleeding


People are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus. Ebola virus was isolated from semen 61 days after onset of illness in a man who was infected in a laboratory.

The incubation period, that is, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is 2 to 21 days.

superior1: Ok

Okudiover: 4th to comment yipee! I am getting there.

Okworigeorge: i want to change my moniker to EBOLA so i ll be making front page

Okworigeorge: i want to change my moniker to EBOLA so i ll be making front page

Please Lagos State should stop BRT and other buses elsewhere from overcrowding their buses. Many of these buses still carry people with many standing at very close proximity to each other! shocked. Some days back I was at a bank which was so overcrowded and the ACs were not working!

We could start wearing hand gloves and face masks. i have noticed that some people have already started doing that. wink.They are relatively cheap.

And we must change or upgrade our hygiene practices. Wash your hands always (as many times as possible) with water and soap especially before your leave or enter your house. Take your bath too. The prices of sanitizers have skyrocketed but like a Doctor said, adding bleach to water to wash your hands is as good or better. You could also buy methylated spirit instead of sanitizers.

Companies and organizations are advised to provide hand washing materials for visitors to use before entering their establishments. They are advised to use deposable hand towels instead of cloth towels.

Make a conscious effort to avoid rubbing your hand over your face, to avoid introducing an virus into your mouth or eyes. It is difficult, but try until you get there.

Avoid crowded places if you can. Let's minimize the parties etc, unless absolutely necessary. And yes, we all know by now, handshaking and hugging is a serious no no, Lol grin wink

LET US HELP OURSELVES, EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT EBOLA, MANY DON'T KNOW THAT THIS IS A KILLER DISEASE. LET EVERYONE BE AWARE and TAKE PREVENTIVE MEASURES. God helping us, this will pass.

NL, please add more info about how to protect ourselves if you of any? Moaning everyday about this this will lead us no where, at least until there is a cure.

My 1Kobo.