Ebola virus prevention

These are the CDC recommendations for the control or prevention of Ebola virus infection.

There is no FDA-approved vaccine available for Ebola.

If you travel to or are in an area affected by an Ebola outbreak, make sure to do the following:

1. Practice careful hygiene. For example, wash your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer and avoid contact with blood and body fluids.
2. Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids (such as clothes, bedding, needles, and medical equipment).
3. Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling the body of someone who has died from Ebola.
4. Avoid contact with bats and nonhuman primates or blood, fluids, and raw meat prepared from these animals.
5. Avoid hospitals in West Africa where Ebola patients are being treated. The U.S. embassy or consulate is often able to provide advice on facilities.
6. After you return, monitor your health for 21 days and seek medical care immediately if you develop symptoms of Ebola virus infection.

Healthcare workers who may be exposed to people with Ebola should follow these steps:

1. Wear protective clothing, including masks, gloves, gowns, and eye protection.
2. Practice proper infection control and sterilization measures.
3. Isolate patients with Ebola from other patients.
4. Avoid direct contact with the bodies of people who have died from Ebola.
5. Notify health officials if you have had direct contact with the blood or body fluids, such as but not limited to, feces, saliva, urine, vomit, and semen of a person who is sick with Ebola. The virus can enter the body through broken skin or unprotected mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth.