Info from McLennan County Public Health District: As you are probably aware, there has been a confirmed case of Ebola in a Dallas, TX hospital. Although this case does not pose an immediate threat to Waco-McLennan County, we wanted you to know that as the Health District, we are being very vigilant regarding this issue. The Epidemiology and Preparedness Divisions have been in communication with the hospitals and healthcare providers in our County, as well as with Emergency Management. Information about signs and symptoms of Ebola and guidance on how healthcare providers should recognize and report a potential case has been shared. Our Public Information Officer, Kelly Craine, has conducted multiple on-camera interviews with local news stations regarding this subject. Hammad Akram, Epidemiologist, has been consulting with our Health Authority, Dr. Verner, regarding the matter. At this point, there is no immediate cause for concern. The positive result on the patient in Texas does not represent an increased risk to the general community. If information changes or new developments arise, you can be assured that we will keep you informed. At this time we would like to share some basic information with you: · Ebola, previously known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a disease caused by a virus. · Signs and symptoms include fever (>101.5), diarrhea, vomiting, severe headache, muscle pain, abdominal pain, and bleeding or bruising · Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days. · Individuals are not capable to spread disease to others (or infectious) until after they begin showing symptoms. · Ebola is spread through direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, feces, vomit, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola or objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with the virus. · Ebola is not spread through the air or by water, or in general, food. However, in Africa, Ebola may be spread as a result of handling bush-meat (wild animals hunted for food) and contact with infected bats. · No specific vaccine or medicine (e.g., antiviral drug) has been proven to be effective against Ebola. Additional information about Ebola can be found on our Waco-McLennan County Public Health District website wacomclennanphd.org. or at cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html. Information about the current U.S. case of Ebola can be found at: cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/s930-ebola-confirmed-case.html.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 17:43:41 +0000
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