Many common illnesses can have the same symptoms as EVD, including influenza flu , malaria, or typhoid fever. EVD is a rare but severe and often deadly disease. Studies show that survivors of Ebola virus infection have antibodies proteins made by the immune system that identify and neutralize invading viruses that can be detected in the blood up to 10 years after recovery.
Survivors are thought to have some protective immunity to the type of Ebola that sickened them. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Ebola Ebola Virus Disease. Register for free to continue reading. Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists.
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Read our Privacy notice. You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe. Register I'll try later. Already subscribed? Frequent contact with high densities of Ebola patients may also require higher levels of respiratory protection including encapsulating suits with powered air-purifying respirators and other PPE. CDC offers guidance for workers in healthcare settings outside of the U.
Workers involved in airline and airport service operations—including flight attendants, cleaning and provisioning staff, and cargo personnel—may be exposed to Ebola virus in a number of scenarios, including exposure to infectious body fluids in lavatories and direct exposure to individuals sick with EVD.
Currently, airline service worker exposure to Ebola virus is unlikely. Passengers originating from locations affected by the ongoing EVD outbreak pose the greatest hazard to workers in the airline service industry. The CDC has prepared guidance for airline flight crews, cleaning personnel, and cargo operations workers. Employers must provide protective clothing and equipment for workers who may perform tasks that could result in exposure to Ebola virus.
This would include employees whose work tasks include cleaning up blood, vomit, or other body fluids from a sick passenger. CDC recommends that airline and other travel industry workers consider providing sick travelers with surgical masks if the sick person can tolerate wearing one to reduce the number of droplets expelled into the air by talking, sneezing, or coughing.
The Personal Protective Equipment standard and the General Duty Clause was not included in this memorandum of understanding. Mortuary and death care workers who must have contact with the remains of individuals known or suspected to be contaminated with Ebola virus must use proper PPE and other infection control measures to avoid exposure to infected blood and body fluids, contaminated objects, or other contaminated environmental surfaces.
These workers must wear face protection a face shield or a medical mask and goggles ; a clean, non-sterile long-sleeved gown; and gloves sterile gloves for some procedures where required to protect the worker against contact with contaminated materials.
These items must be selected based on their ability to protect the worker from splashes of blood, body fluids, and other sources of infectious material. Following good hand hygiene protocols and other infection control techniques may further reduce mortuary and death care worker exposure to Ebola and other infectious agents.
Laboratory workers who handle samples containing Ebola virus, including for diagnostic testing of patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola and as part of research and development work, must be protected from exposure to the virus on the job.
Workers in clinical and research laboratories can safely handle such samples by strict adherence to precautions and practices specifically designed for contact- and droplet-transmissible diseases, including more common bloodborne pathogens. When followed appropriately, these precautions and practices are effective in protecting workers from exposure to Ebola virus.
However, Ebola has low infectious dose, diagnostic and research samples may contain high numbers of viral particles, and exposure can result in severe disease. Therefore, it is essential that employers review laboratory safety and health procedures and guidelines with lab workers; train and test competency of workers in appropriate implementation of these procedures and guidelines, including appropriate use of engineering controls and PPE; and ensure consistent adherence to them.
In addition to OSHA requirements that are broadly applicable to occupational exposure to Ebola virus and related hazards, such as chemicals used for cleaning and disinfection, laboratory employers must also follow specific requirements that apply to labs.
The following sections may be of particular relevance to employers and workers whose workplaces may contain Ebola virus:. A useful matrix describes staff competencies across a number of skill domains, including identifying and describing hazards, controlling potential exposures, implementing administrative controls, and preparing for and responding to emergencies.
Importantly, handling of samples from individuals with suspected or confirmed Ebola, or research samples of Ebola virus, should always be done in containment e. Employers must also be prepared to safely and effectively decontaminate laboratory work environments, and handle waste generated from both the laboratory work and cleaning and decontamination activities.
When selecting disinfectants, employers should consult EPA List L of selected registered antimicrobial products that meet the CDC criteria for use against the Ebola virus. OSHA's " Safe Handling, Treatment, Transport, and Disposal of Ebola-Contaminated Waste " fact sheet details best practices throughout the waste cycle, from the point of waste generation through final disposition of treated waste products.
Note: Different or additional engineering controls, PPE, and other measures may be needed to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals used for cleaning and disinfection.
Specific recommendations for engineering controls and PPE needed when working with samples known to or suspected of containing Ebola virus vary between clinical and research laboratories. Each setting is discussed below. CDC BMBL guidelines , including Section IV , describe the standard microbiological practices, special practices, and safety equipment and laboratory facilities including engineering controls and PPE , for working at this level.
BSL-3 precautions require that all procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials must be conducted within a BSC, or other appropriate physical containment devices.
Do not conduct work with open vessels on the laboratory bench or perform tasks that result in the generation of bio-aerosols—this may include vortexing, pipetting, aspirating, or other similar procedures—outside of the BSC. Class II BSCs use airflow into the front of the cabinet to keep potentially contaminated air and materials e. OSHA's new " PPE Selection Matrix for Occupational Exposure to Ebola Virus ", provides task-based guidance to help employers select appropriate PPE for workers who may be exposed to Ebola virus, including workers conducting clinical laboratory work on samples from patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola.
Workers must receive repeated training on and must demonstrate competency in putting on and removing proper PPE before working with clinical samples from Ebola patients. Some types of laboratory tests may be done in the same room or area where an Ebola patient receives treatment. For such practices, known as "point of care testing," healthcare workers wearing PPE suitable for the care of a hospitalized Ebola patient should perform laboratory tests on dedicated equipment.
This may help reduce risk for infection of clinical laboratory personnel and contamination of laboratory equipment in a hospital's core laboratory.
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