Way to prevent Ebola virus disease (EVD)

                                 presented by Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention

-It is a very dangerous disease yet we can prevent the contraction!-

             

EVD is not transmitted from respiration but from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membrane) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of an infected person.

If an outbreak is suspected, please report quickly to National Quarantine Station, a community health center, or to Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

l EVD is caused by Ebola virus. No licensed vaccine for EVD is available, and the case fatality rate ranges from 25 % to 90%.

The incubation period (from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms) is between 2 to 21 days, and the symptoms include the sudden onset of fever, shivers, muscle pain and sore throat, followed by nausea, vomiting, stomachache and diarrhea.

l EVD is not transmitted from respiration but from direct contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or animal. Individuals who are not symptomatic are not contagious.

Since EVD first appeared in the Republic of Congo in 1976, outbreaks have periodically occurred in Gabon, Cote D’Ivoire, Sudan and Uganda.  In 2014, there has been a significant increase in the number of outbreaks and casualties in three countries of West Africa.

Countries of 2014 outbreak: Guinea (March), Sierra Leone (March), and Liberia (May)

Present condition: 729 dead out of 1,323 infected (WTO, July 31st)

l The Korean government has operated special task force to prevent EVD since April, 2014. With active monitoring of the outbreaks both in and outside the country, the government is conducting a strict epidemiologic investigation and distributing guidelines to relevant offices to prevent the disease from entering Korea.

 

l The government also issued a travel advisory asking people to refrain from visiting the three countries affected by the outbreak, advised on how to prevent contracting the disease while travelling, and toughened quarantines.

 

l Tourists from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia will be strictly monitored for 21 days (given the incubation period).

*As of August 4th, 13 people out of 21 objects of investigations are found to be free of symptoms. The rest are still under active monitoring.

 

[How to prevent contracting EVD]

l  One should refrain from visiting the affected area. If the visit is already in place, one need to avoid direct physical contact with an EVD patient, strictly keep personal hygiene such as washing hands, and abide by the travel advisory such as drinking safe water and having well-cooked meals.

 

l  If returning visitors from the affected areas develop infectious disease symptoms, they should report it to the National Quarantine Station and seek rapid medical attention at a community health center nearby or contact Bio-terror hotline at 043-719-7777.

 

For more information, please see the http://travelinfo.cdc.go.kr.