As the days go by, the threat of Ebola sounds more real. This may be because it’s made it’s way to Europe and America in isolated incidents, and therefore gets more coverage. Admittedly it’s a little bit unsettling – it’s got closer and there’s no telling how bad it is!
So what is Ebola? The best summary I have seen come from the independent which says: “A deadly virus for which there is currently no proven cure. It is transmitted to humans from wild animals and is then spread through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of those who are already infected. Symptoms, which can begin between two to 21 days after infection, include fever, muscle pain, headache and a sore throat followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function and in some cases both internal and external bleeding. To date, there have been almost 6,000 cases of Ebola diagnosed in the current outbreak.”
Ways to avoid catching Ebola
Some methods to avoid catching ebola are fairly common sense and self explanatory – like with any disease it is important to ensure that you don’t take unnecessary risks.
- Don’t touch The Patient – one of the biggest methods by which infectious diseases travel, is by touching the patient. Spread of contamination from one person to another can be the main driving force for disease multiplying. Patients should only be touched when providing essential medical care
- Personal Hygiene – ensuring that you wash after coming into contact with anyone is vital. Proper showering as well as hand hygiene is vital to keep yourself protected when coming into contact with those that are showing symptoms of infectious disease.
- Protective Clothing – different infectious diseases vary in severity – those who are more susceptible to illness and have a weaker immune system require more protection. Protective clothing such as gloves, masks, goggles and overalls are essential to prevent any fluids from the patient getting onto you and infecting you. More damaging infectious disease such as Ebola require more protection – additional layers, breathing apparatus and isolation.
- Laundry – It is important to make sure that all laundry is done thoroughly when handling patients with infectious diseases. The more severe the case then it is wise to start considering incinerating the bedding and clothing of the patient, in order to prevent the disease multiplying on the discarded clothing.
- Cleaning – this is a vital part of stemming the spread of infectious disease. Using high quality cleaning products to stop diseases multiplying on a surface is a step towards making an area infection free
- Avoid the doctors unless vital – doctors surgeries, hospital waiting rooms, they’re all places where ill people tend to be together immune systems are weaker and they can lead to being a simple way to spread infectious disease. Unless it’s vital, it is often wise to avoid going to these places – this avoids taking resources from those in more urgent need, and also helps towards preventing the spread.
- Condoms – it is very wise to use condoms, the ebola virus stays in semen for upto 70 days after a person has recovered. Therefore safe or no sex is the best option you have.
- Stock up – it is wise to stock up on essentials in order to be prepared for being ill, the event that things go drastically wrong and you need food and water. This isn’t to say go and panic buy, but it’s better to be prepared than caught short!
This list isn’t exhaustive, however the suggestions included should help to prevent the spread of infectious disease, whether it is wanted to avoid flu and colds, to taking preventative measures for the spread of something like ebola.
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mdickinson35 