Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

What is Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

Ebola virus disease is one infectious disease out of a group of diseases called viral hemorrhagic fevers.

The Ebola virus enters your body through cuts or scratches on your skin or through moist body surfaces such as the eyes, nose, or mouth (mucous membranes).

The virus attacks your immune system and blocks it from fighting the infection. It can damage your blood vessels and can create problems with how your blood clots, causing your body to bleed. Your kidneys and liver can also become badly damaged.

People who recover from EVD are resistant (immune) to the disease, although it is not known how long the immunity lasts.

Ebola Virus Disease must be treated in a hospital because blood and body fluids contain high levels of the virus, and the sickness may be very severe. At the hospital, safety measures are taken to stop the infection from spreading to others.

People with Ebola Virus Disease are separated (isolated) from other patients in the hospital, and health care workers will wear protective clothing, gloves, masks, goggles, and boots to cover their whole body.

Ebola Virus Disease is found mainly in Africa. You are not likely to catch EVD unless you have had direct contact with a sick person who:

• Has been in an area with a recent EVD outbreak.
• Has taken care of a person with EVD.

What are the causes of EVD?

You can get the Ebola virus through direct contact with:

• Body fluids of an infected person, such as feces, urine, blood, semen, vomit, saliva, breast milk, or sweat.
• Objects that have been contaminated with infected blood or body fluids, such as needles, syringes, bedding, or clothing.

It is not known how long the virus lives on surfaces.

What are the signs or symptoms of EVD?

It can take from 2 to 21 days for symptoms to show up after the virus enters your body. The symptoms may start out appearing like the flu. A fever may develop and can get as high as 104°F (40°C).

Severe diarrhea and vomiting follow, causing body fluid loss (dehydration). After 5 or 6 days of feeling sick, some people develop internal bleeding.

Early Symptoms

• Sudden onset of high fever
• Feeling very tired, weak, or achy.
• Headache, backache, or bone and muscle aches.
• Sore throat.
• Vomiting.
• Diarrhea.

• Stomach pain.
• Red, itchy eyes (conjunctivitis).
• Unexplained bleeding or bruising.

Late Symptoms

• Bleeding from places such as the eyes, ears, nose, gums, vagina, rectum, or needle sites.
• Genital swelling.
• A feeling of pain in the skin that does not go away.
• Rash.
• Uncontrolled shaking (seizures).
• Coma.

What should I do if I get symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease?

If you have been in Africa recently, have had contact with a person diagnosed with EVD, or show symptoms of EVD:

• Do not go directly to a hospital or health care provider’s office. Call your health care provider or your local emergency services (911 in the U.S.). Tell them about your symptoms and the possibility of Ebola. This information will help health care workers prepare for your visit so you can be diagnosed quickly and so other people can be protected from catching the infection.
• Do notwait to see if you get better. EVD can be life-threatening. Treatment is more effective when it is started early, and EVD must be treated in a hospital.
• Do not take public transportation.
• Stay away from people who are not wearing protective clothing.

How can Ebola Virus Disease be prevented?

There is no vaccine to prevent EVD, but you can take steps to prevent EVD:

• Avoid contact with the body fluids of a person who has EVD. This is the best way to prevent EVD. Body fluids include:
  • Stool (feces).
  • Urine
  • Blood.
  • Semen.
  • Vomit.
  • Saliva.
  • Breast milk.
  • Sweat.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use hand sanitizer.
• If you are taking care of sick people in an area where Ebola Virus Disease is present, wear protective clothing.

If you have been exposed to the body fluids of an infected person, the following steps will be taken to prevent EVD from spreading:

• If you are at the hospital, safety measures (contact precautions) will be taken to prevent the infection from spreading to others. People who have or may have Ebola Virus Disease are separated (isolated) from other patients in the hospital, and health care workers will wear protective clothing, gloves, masks, goggles, and boots to cover their whole body.
• You will be monitored carefully for signs and symptoms of Ebola Virus Disease.
• Your temperature will be checked two times a day.
• You may be asked to stay in your home and keep away from other people.

If you develop a fever or other Ebola Virus Disease symptoms, you will have a blood test to check for the virus. If you do not get sick after 21 days, you may resume your normal activities as told by your health care provider.

Is a person still contagious if he or she recovers from EVD?

People who recover from EVD are released from the hospital when two blood tests show that there is no Ebola virus in their blood (negative blood tests). Negative blood tests mean that the virus cannot be spread (is not contagious) through normal household or social contact. However, the virus may stay in semen and breast milk for a longer time. For this reason:

• Do nothave sexual intercourse for 3 months after treatment, or as long as told by your health care provider. Even after you recover, use a condom every time you have sexual intercourse, and make sure you use the condom correctly.
• If you are nursing, do notbreastfeed your child until you have two negative breast milk tests.

Can pets get EVD and spread it to people?

So far, there have been no reports of dogs or cats becoming sick with Ebola or spreading Ebola to people or other animals. If a dog or cat is exposed to the blood or body fluids of a person with EVD, work with veterinary and public health officials to determine what steps should be taken.

How is this diagnosed?

Your health care provider will ask you about your symptoms, if you have been exposed to a person with EVD, or if you have traveled to an area with an Ebola outbreak. To confirm a diagnosis, your health care provider will perform blood tests.

How is this treated?

EVD must be treated in a hospital. There is no medicine to kill the virus, so your body must recover on its own with the help of IV fluids, oxygen, and blood transfusions. When blood tests show that the virus is no longer present in your blood, isolation will be stopped. You will be allowed to go home when you feel strong enough and are eating well.

Follow these instructions at home:

• Do nothave sexual intercourse for 3 months after recovery or as directed by your health care provider. If you do, use a condom. The virus may be passed through sexual contact even after you have recovered. Otherwise, you cannot spread EVD to others once the tests show that your blood no longer contains the virus.
• Do not breastfeed your child for 3 months after recovery, if this applies.
• Return to normal activities as soon as you feel able.
• Take over-the-counter medicines as directed by your health care provider.

People who recover from EVD are resistant (immune) to the disease, although it is not known how long the immunity lasts.

Contact a health care provider if:

You continue to have mild headaches, muscle aches, or other minor symptoms. You may have these symptoms even after you are no longer infected, but you need to tell your health care provider if these symptoms do not go away.

Get help right away if:

• More severe symptoms return, especially fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or bleeding.
• You know someone who was exposed to you when you were sick, and they develop a fever or other EVD symptoms. They must get medical help right away.

Summary

• Ebola virus disease (EVD) is part of a group of diseases called viral hemorrhagic fevers.
• The Ebola virus enters the body through cuts or scratches on the skin or through moist body surfaces such as the eyes, nose, or mouth (mucous membranes).
• EVD can damage the blood vessels and can create problems with how the blood clots. This causes the body to bleed.
• The best way to prevent EVD is to avoid contact with the body fluids of a person who has EVD.

Seek Additional Information

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/about.html
• World Health Organization: www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en