People infected with Ebola are only contagious when they begin to show symptoms. Symptoms of Ebola include fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, and bleeding.
Unlike influenza or tuberculosis, Ebola is not airborne.
People can increase their chance to survive Ebola by getting supportive medical care as early as possible – to lower the fever, rehydrate and get good nutrition, reduce pain and control infection.
Mosquitoes cannot spread Ebola, nor can the virus be spread via mosquito bites.
The characteristics of the Ebola virus suggest that it is likely to be relatively fragile in the environment in comparison with the enteric viruses that commonly cause diarrhoeal disease. To date, there is no evidence for transmission of Ebola viruses via drinking-water contaminated by faeces or urine. The virus is unlikely to survive for extended periods outside of the body.
People should pay attention to their health and watch for Ebola symptoms of infection (fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat, followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, and bleeding) for 21 days.
There is no licensed medicine or vaccine for Ebola virus disease, but several products are going through clinical trials for safety.
A person who has died of Ebola is still highly infectious and should not be touched.
