Ebola 101 for Americans

by Sue in NM

History of current Ebola outbreak

The Ebola strain in America has been traced back to West Africa. Ebola is a type of filovirus. West African Countries where this outbreak started are Guinea, Sierra Leone,  Liberia and Nigeria.

The U.S. currently has a Level 3 Travel Warning for Guinea,  Sierra Leone and Liberia.  This means only essential personnel should travel to these countries. Nigeria has a Level 1 travel warning. Nigeria has a lower warning level because at the onset of Ebola Nigeria imposed on themselves a travel ban to both incoming and outgoing travel.  They were able to contain the outbreak.

CDC has offices located in international airports and land borders now. At a CDC Press briefing they said border patrol agents have been instructed on what to watch for.

How is Ebola transmitted?      

Ebola can be transmitted from mammals and rodents to humans.  When Ebola was first discovered there were extensive studies done to see if Ebola was transmitted by mosquitoes.  The studies proved mosquitoes do not carry or transmit the Ebola virus.

Ebola can be transmitted by eating the meat of an animal infected. Meat should be thoroughly cooked and the Ebola virus is killed.

Humans to human transmission is through direct contact with body fluids. Blood, mucous, sputum, feces, urine, vomit, breast milk, eye secretions and semen are the body fluids that can transmit Ebola.

What does direct contact mean? Some enterovirus such as the common cold can be transmitted through the air. Ebola cannot. EBOLA CAN BE TRANSMITTED IF A INFECTED PERSON COUGHS OR SNEEZES on someone and body fluids get into the eyes, nose, mouth or a break in the skin such as a cut, sore rash etc..

Live Ebola virus has been found in semen in people who have recovered from Ebola up to 7 weeks. There are documented cases of transfer of Ebola by these individuals. Use condoms when having sex. Remember condoms have been shown to have breaks in them you can’t see. Ebola has the potential of spreading like AIDS. Educate yourself and others.

What do we do now?

Stop all incoming air travel from infected Countries. Secure our borders, land and sea. Anyone exposed to Ebola should not travel until 21 days after last possible contact with someone who has Ebola.

Obama and the CDC argue that if we stop air travel from infected Countries they will not be able to track possible people with Ebola. This makes no sense. They can be identified by their passports. Anyone from these Countries who manage to get to U.S. should be deported or quarantined for 21 days.

What can you do to protect yourself in crowded public places?  

I recommend using Clorox wipes. You may use a generic brand if the ingredients are the same as Clorox wipes. Read the label.

The most effective cleaning agent is bleach.  The WHO recommends a solution of 1:100 to 1:1000 units of bleach in water. You should use 20% bleach and 80% water. Hard surfaces may be wiped down with this. Leave on for at least 20 minutes to kill Ebola virus. If bleach may damage the surface wipe down with Clorox wipes.  A generic bleach may be used only if ingredients are the same as Clorox. Read the label.

Ebola can live on hard surfaces from 2 hours to years depending on the temperature.  The colder it is the longer the virus lives. Ebola has been found to survive for years at -3 centigrade in labs studying Ebola.

Remember Ebola can be transmitted if body fluids come into contact with eyes, nose, mouth or a break in the skin. Wear eyeglasses or sunglasses. Use a scarf or facemask to protect your mouth and nose. Cover all breaks in skin (cuts, sores, rash) with a waterproof band aid that seals on all 4 sides. If the area is large you may use a Ace wrap to cover the area. If you use this be careful removing and after use wash in a bleach solution.

To clean up a suspected spill, vomit, feces, urine, etc. of Ebola follow these instructions which come from WHO. Carefully cover the contaminate with paper towel . Start from the outside of the spill working inward until the entire spill is covered. Carefully saturate the towels with bleach. Leave on 20 minutes then remove.

In Public Restrooms do the following. Wipe the toilet seat with Clorox wipes. Use seat cover provided. To wash your hands do the following. Turn on the faucet with a Clorox wipe or paper towel. Once through washing your hands turn off the faucet with a new Clorox wipe or paper towel. Also open the door with a wipe when leaving..

What can Americans do to protect themselves?

Wash your hands frequently. Lather your hands with soap and water. You should do this for 2 minutes and then rinse. A quick splash is not sufficient. If you think you might have been in contact with someone with Ebola after you wash your hands throw the bar of soap away.

Alcohol hand sanitizer may be used if they are 60% alcohol.  If your hands are dirty or have body fluid on them this is ineffective. Use only if this is all you have.

Scams On The Internet: Ebola Kits.

People are selling Ebola kits on the internet. I have fount these kits on places like Amazon and Ebay for up to $3000. DO NOT BUY especially if they have HAZMAT suits. The greatest danger of exposure to Ebola with a HAZMAT suit is removal. Most of the healthcare workers in West Africa have been infected taking the HAZMAT suit off.

You can purchase face masks and gloves from a pharmacy or places like Walmart at a fraction of the cost.

Can any hospital in the United States treat a Ebola patient?

The answer is no. Ebola is a BS-4 pathogen.  It is very contagious with a high mortality rate. After the 9/11 attacks President Bush and Homeland Security developed a Bio-Terrorism Program. They put into place a program to deal with epidemics from diseases like Ebola and Anthrax. There are four hospitals in America equipped to care for Ebola. They are located in Georgia, Nebraska, Montana and Maryland.

The program was to expand to hospitals throughout the United States but President Obama discontinued the program in 2008. This program must be reinstated. Contact your state and federal representatives to reinstate these programs and demand travel ban on countries with an ongoing Ebola outbreak.

We must secure our borders by air, land and sea. Should Ebola reach Central America or Mexico there will be a flood of immigrants at our borders. We can help countries with Ebola by helping them deal with the disease in their countries. Currently the United States is not equipped to handle mass immigrants from these countries.

The use of our Military and National Guard in these Countries is dangerous with the potential of infecting our troops and people in America. As we have seen, the negligent way our government and the CDC is handling Ebola in the United States. Do you think they can protect our troops? The answer is NO!

**A good friend of many Blog Talk Radio shows, Sue from NM, was a nurse and educator for 30 years and researched the information used to write this article. Her wish and mine is for you to share this with your family, friends and even political opponents, to insure their safety during this time.**