What is Ebola?
The Ebola virus causes a rare and very serious infectious disease that occurs in Africa and is accompanied by haemorrhaging (bleeding) in the body. The disease is contagious only through direct physical contact with a patient, or as a result of slaughtering and eating a sick wild animal (bush meat). When contaminated, there is a considerable risk of dying; there is no vaccine against or proper treatment of Ebola, and treatment mainly consists of fighting complications. Ebola causes severe complaints that always require nursing, especially when they are at the peak of contagiousness.
How is the disease controlled?
An Ebola outbreak is controlled by quickly recognising and separating (isolating) patients to prevent new contaminations. Anyone who has been in contact with a patient (without protection) is monitored for three weeks to see whether they become ill too. If so, they are immediately admitted to hospital, where they are nursed separately from other patients. Doctors and nurses who treat these patients wear protective clothing and comply with strict rules to prevent contamination and spreading of the disease.
Is Ebola dangerous?
There is no proper treatment or vaccine against the Ebola virus, and about 70% of those contaminated die of the disease.
Who is at risk of becoming sick?
People at risk are mainly carers of patients, such as healthcare practitioners and family members. Contamination is possible through direct contact with a patient, during which the virus is transferred via body fluids (such as blood, saliva, or sweat). People can also be contaminated by eating sick animals.
Where does the Ebola outbreak occur?
There has been an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa since February 2014, which probably originated in the rain forest in southeast Guinea, presumably after eating meat from contaminated animals from the jungle. The outbreak then spread through funeral rituals. People from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia cross the borders to pay their deceased relatives a traditional last honour, which has caused many people from Liberia and Sierra Leone to become infected. In July 2014, a small number of people in Nigeria were also contaminated with Ebola. 9 May 2015, The World Health Organization declared Liberia free of Ebola virus transmission.
Can Ebola spread to the Netherlands?
The chance of someone becoming infected with the Ebola virus and bringing it into the Netherlands is extremely limited. People can only become sick after immediate contact with other sufferers or by preparing or eating bush meat (raw monkey or bat meat). Ebola is contagious only if someone actually has symptoms, which is why those who take care of sufferers in particular, are at risk of becoming contaminated.
Does a treatment exist?
No, there is no vaccine or medicine available against Ebola, and treatment mainly consists of fighting complications. Each case of Ebola causes enough severe complaints for people to require medical care, especially during the time when they are most contagious. Currently, an experimental treatment is provided on a very limited scale with a non-registered medicine, which has not been previously administered to patients. It is as yet unknown whether it affects the course of the disease.
Can Ebola be transferred through unprotected intercourse?
Yes, the virus has been found in sperm, even after recovering from an Ebola infection, so be sure to avoid unprotected intercourse with a recovered Ebola patient until six months after recovery.
How long does the Ebola virus survive outside the body?
Depending on various factors, such as the amount of virus, the body fluid in which the virus occurs, the contaminated surface, and temperature, the Ebola virus can survive a couple of hours to many days outside a patient. The virus breaks down after heating to 60℃ for an hour or by boiling for five minutes. Cleaning with disinfectants such as chlorine, bleach, or alcohol also breaks down the virus. Freezing or cooling, however, does not kill it.
Is there a risk of contamination with the Ebola virus when shaking hands or kissing on the cheek?
In the Netherlands and other European countries, there is no risk of contamination with the Ebola virus by shaking hands or giving a kiss on the cheek. However, shaking hands with or kissing an Ebola patient must be avoided.
Can the Ebola virus be transferred by mosquitoes?
There is no proof of mosquitoes transferring Ebola. When a mosquito sucks blood, the Ebola virus ends up in the mosquito’s stomach, where the blood and the virus are digested. The Ebola virus cannot multiply in the mosquito and can thus not be transferred in this way.
Does wastewater present any risk of catching Ebola?
If a patient is not yet seriously ill, the faeces and urine of patients are not very contagious, and there is no problem for patients to visit the lavatory at that time. As a patient becomes sicker, the faeces, urine and vomit become increasingly contagious. This is why in hospital faeces and urine of an ebola patient are contained, and the virus is eliminated from it. Should a seriously ill patient go to a normal lavatory anyway, causing the Ebola virus to end up in the wastewater, the virus will be strongly diluted into harmless amounts; in addition, the Ebola virus is extremely fragile and will probably not survive at all.
Scientific research demonstrates that surface water (such as ditches and rivers) does not play any role in the spread of Ebola. The virus cannot enter our drinking water.
Can the Ebola virus be transferred via the air?
Contamination is not possible via coughing or sneezing, because it is not an infection that is transferred through tiny drops, as with the ‘flu. Ebola can be transferred through direct contact with bodily fluids; blood, vomit and diarrhoea are most contagious. Only when special medical treatments are executed with an Ebola patient, such as applying artificial respiration or draining the airways, contamination by means of small droplets cannot be excluded. Therefore extra protection measures are taken when executing these procedures.