Information Concerning Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

The likelihood of becoming infected with Ebola virus is small unless the person has traveled to an outbreak area and has had direct contact with blood or body secretions from an Ebola infected person or animal, or with objects that were wet with blood or bodily fluids of someone ill with Ebola.


Ebola is a disease that is sometimes fatal. Humans contract Ebola from chimpanzees, monkeys, gorillas and other wild animals that have been infected with the disease. The virus may then spread person to person through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people.

It is not transmitted through air, water or food. Family members, friends and health-care workers in close contact with Ebola patients are at the greatest risk for contracting the illness.

The current outbreak is so far known to be in the areas of West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone), but not necessarily exclusive to those areas.  

Ebola symptoms may include a high fever, weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, sore throat, bleeding and a rash. The systems may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to the virus.
 

What can you do?

People who have been in contact with an individual who is ill and is from or has recently visited one of the affected countries within the last 21 days should inform their physician or a health-care facility if you experience any symptoms associated with EVD.
 

Travel to Disease Areas

Student’s faculty and staff should honor the Center for Disease Control’s Level 3 warning and should not go to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia for any trips at this time. Enhanced precautions should be taken for trips taken to Nigeria. The Center for disease Control has issued a Level 2 warning for the country of Nigeria.

Additional information on travel is available from the CDC travel advisory page.

More Information on the Ebola virus disease can be obtained from the links below:

http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/ehsrm/healthmanagement/ebola.html

NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

World Health Organization

U.S. Center for Disease Control

Last Updated: 10/18/2019 11:53