Menu
Ebola is a highly contagious viral disease. Ebola is not an airborne disease. It is transmitted via bodily fluids and by surfaces and materials contaminated with these fluids, such as bedding and clothing. It often spreads to family members or care givers who have little or no knowledge of infection control. Primary symptoms are fever, headache and muscular pain, followed by vomiting and diarrhoea. As the disease progresses, sufferers can haemorrhage internally or experience organ failure and eventually die.
Our epidemiologists, doctors, nurses and other staff are making #ToughDecisions every day as they respond to the Ebola crisis.
When outbreaks of infectious diseases occur, an important part of the response is to trace the virus back to its source. MSF outreach teams travel outside the centre of the outbreak to find other people who have been in contact with the patients. If they are displaying symptoms, they can then be tested for the virus and treated at the isolation unit.
