Though discussed in the first post on the basics of Ebola,[1] there is still some confusion as to how Ebola is transmitted. When Ebola first hit the mainstream news in July there was a lot of emphasis on how Ebola can’t be spread through the air, that it can’t be spread by just touching; one British official whose name I cannot remember said that he would not be afraid to sit next to someone with Ebola on the tube. At the time I thought this unfortunate because if Ebola ever spread to other areas there would be a great misconception on the ease of transmission when a person is in proximity to another who is infected.
Lenny Bernstein, a reporter for the Washington Post in Liberia, talked about the precautions and worries about transmissibility:[2]
You don’t touch anyone in Liberia. Not kids, not adults, not other Westerners, not the colleagues you arrived with. It is the rule of rules, because while everyone able is taking precautions, you just can’t be sure where the invisible, lethal Ebola virus might be. Once the virus is on your fingers, it would be frighteningly easy to rub an eye and infect yourself.
Mr. Bernstein stressed that Ebola is difficult to catch – avoid a patient and objects that they might touch and you will probably be fine. When he interviewed sick people, he “stood four to six feet away . . . in case the person I was talking to sneezed, coughed, spit or — worst of all — vomited.” But these precautions are important to take. Ebola can even be found in the semen of recovered men for up to 3 months,[3] posing a transmission risk that could end up creating another wave of disease in areas where the first wave has passed.
The CDC has hypothesized that the duration of disease incubation may be related to the method of infection: less time for symptoms to appear when an injected transferred Ebola, and more time for skin contact.[4] The virus first migrates to lymph nodes and then to the liver, spleen, and adrenal glands.[5] Ebola is unusual, though not unique, in being able to start its initial infection in any type of cell.[6]
Surfaces and materials that have come into contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals will also be able to spread Ebola,[7] and it is important to remember that sweat is one of these bodily fluids. The CDC explains “[e]bola on dried on surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops can survive for several hours; however, virus in body fluids (such as blood) can survive up to several days at room temperature.”[8]
The CDC urges hospitals to avoid “aerosol-generating procedures.”[9] This is because Ebola can be transmitted in the air in relatively large particles. Though they drop out of the air in some time they can be spread in the air for the duration of suspension. The CDC says “if a symptomatic patient with Ebola coughs or sneezes on someone, and saliva or mucus come into contact with that person’s eyes, nose or mouth, these fluids may transmit the disease.”[10]
Sources are below the cut
[1] http://pandemicebola.com/2014/09/30/basic-information-on-ebola/
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/10/01/reporting-on-ebola-first-rule-is-you-dont-touch-anyone/
[3] http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/index.html
[4] http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/clinician-information-us-healthcare-settings.html
[5] Id.
[6] http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/know-enemy/
[7] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/
[8] http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas.html
[9] http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/patient-management-us-hospitals.html
[10] http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas.html
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