Confirmed Case of Ebola in the US no Reason to Panic Says the CDC to Pasadena Now

The Centers for Disease Control today confirmed the first case of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the United States. The patient was found in the Dallas area. This is no reason to panic.

While Ebola is a very dangerous disease once contracted it is very similar to hepatitis in how it spreads. The CDC suggests the following:

-Practice careful hygiene. Avoid contact with blood and body fluids.

-Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids.

-Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling the body of someone who has died from Ebola.

-Avoid contact with bats and nonhuman primates or blood, fluids, and raw meat prepared from these animals.

-Avoid hospitals where Ebola patients are being treated. The U.S. embassy or consulate is often able to provide advice on facilities.

The CDC also reiterates that Ebola CAN NOT be spread through the air, water or through food.

It can however be spread by:

-Blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, feces, vomit, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola

-Objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with the virus

-Infected animals

“Ebola is a very serious disease but there is no reason to panic,” says Melanie Kohr Vice-President of Clinic Operations for Passport Health. “As long as proper precautions are taken this is something that can be beaten. It isn’t an airborne pathogen, this isn’t something that can be easily spread. If we follow CDC instructions this will eventually be considered just a scare and not something more serious.”

For more information on Ebola visit the CDC’s website at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/

If traveling to a region affected by the disease, specifically West Africa, feel free to reach out to one of CDC’s Passport Health locations, visit www.passporthealthusa.com, or call 1-877-499-PASS (7277) to speak with a Passport Health Travel Health Specialist today.