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10 Things to Avoid Doing During an Ebola Outbreak

10 Things to Avoid Doing During an Ebola Outbreak

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Everyone is freaking out about contracting the Ebola virus these days, but unless you live in Liberia, Guinea or Sierra Leone or are a health care worker, your chances of contracting this disease are actually pretty slim. Unlike the common cold or flu virus, Ebola is not spread through the air — a person must have direct contact with the bodily fluids of someone who is not only infected, but who is also showing symptoms of Ebola to contract it. That said, here are 10 ways this could happen:

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control 

ebola02_2869721b(1)

1. Someone with Ebola sneezes on you and it gets in your eye or mouth

It takes direct contact with bodily fluids to get Ebola — it cannot just live suspended in the air — so not only does the infected person have to be showing symptoms, they have to directly hit you in the mouth or eye with fluids from a sneeze.

medibird.com
medibird.com

2. Share needles with an Ebola patient

Like the HIV virus, Ebola can also be spread by sharing needles, which really is never a good idea.

web.orange.co.uk
web.orange.co.uk

3. Share a toilet with a person infected with Ebola

Since Ebola can live on surfaces for up to several hours, theoretically, you could use the bathroom on an airplane flight after someone with Ebola and get infected. Of all the random ways you can get Ebola, according to the Guardian, this one is the most logistical.

Youtube/WorldBreakingNews
Youtube/WorldBreakingNews

4. Touch a doorknob after an Ebola patient

The Ebola patient would have to leave some bodily fluids on the doorknob, and you would have to have a cut on your hand through which the virus could enter. So pretty rare.

thenews-chronicle.com
thenews-chronicle.com

5. Have sex with someone who has Ebola

According to the CDC, Ebola is spread through “blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, and semen) of a person who is sick” with the virus. So if you have sex, whether it is protected or not, and the person is already showing symptoms, you could get Ebola.

infectionlandscapes.org
infectionlandscapes.org

6. Chill with monkeys or bats

Besides humans, mammals like bats, monkeys, and apes offer the greatest chance of spreading Ebola to you, according to the CDC website.

worldbulletin.net
worldbulletin.net

7. Someone with Ebola pukes on you

Since Ebola is spread through vomit, you could get Ebola if someone with the disease threw up on you.

quoteko.com
quoteko.com

8. You had Ebola more than 10 years ago

If you had Ebola more than 10 years ago and survived, you may still be at risk for infection. The CDC says after 10 years it isn’t clear if the antibodies are still good.

Youtube/TV2Africa
Youtube/TV2Africa

9. Breastfeed while you have Ebola

According to the CDC, the virus has been detected in breast milk, so you could pass it on to your child if you breastfeed while infected.

www.news.com.au
www.news.com.au

10. Handle Feces of an Ebola patient

Blood, feces and vomit are the ways most people get infected — hence the reason health care workers are on the front lines. A person also becomes more infectious as the disease progresses — and they are more likely to lose control of bodily functions.