State Epidemiologist Dr. Tina Tan debunks the myths surrounding the Ebola Outbreak by answering NJTV News viewers’ questions about the virus.
Q: Is Ebola airborne?
A: Ebola virus is not airborne. It is not spread through an airborne route or by water or by food. It’s primarily only spread by direct contact with infected bodily fluids.
Q: If a person is coughing or sneezing, can Ebola be transferred that way?
A: As mentioned, Ebola virus is not transmitted through an airborne route, so again it is primarily through the direct contact with bodily fluids like blood contaminated with the virus.
Q: Do hand sanitizers kill Ebola? Are they enough of a protective measure?
A: Hand sanitizers, good hand washing with soap and water will effectively get rid of Ebola virus.
Q: Can pets get Ebola?
A: There is always a risk that pets could get Ebola virus disease and that certainly similar precautions as we would take for humans would be also applicable for pets.
Q: The United States has imposed some extra security measures at the nation’s airports. New Jersey’s will take affect next week. How can we protect ourselves if we have to fly?
A: It’s very important that individuals when they are flying abroad or when traveling abroad take a look at the CDC’s website to get a sense of what the various travel alerts are because whether it is Ebola or some other travel associated illness, people need to be aware of any sort of risk in any other infectious diseases that might be a potential risk for travel to a particular area.
Q: Is there a difference between a domestic flight and an international flight?
A: Primarily, we are talking about international flights where we might not be as familiar with some of the diseases that are circulating in other countries or other areas.
Q: Do we receive direct flights from Liberia and other West African countries with known epidemics? What precautions are taken in receiving those passengers and crew?
A: From what I understand, New Jersey does not receive direct flights from those western African countries that are affected right now.
Q: Should people with preexisting medical conditions take any extra precautions? If the patient has a preexisting medical condition, will the infection spread faster throughout their body?
A: Any individual is potentially at risk for Ebola virus disease if they are traveling to areas where the virus is circulating and that they’re potentially exposing themselves in a way that puts them at risk for transmission and of getting Ebola virus disease. It’s probably likely that individuals who have immune suppression or weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions might have more complications, but again, the response to the disease might vary according to people’s underlying medical conditions.
Q: If it really isn’t that easy to catch, why do we see health workers wearing hazmat suits?
A: The issue of ensuring that workers who are evaluating a particular situation, whether it’s an Ebola situation or any other unknown situation, where the risk of a contamination might put the worker at risk warrants certain worker protection. Those are considerations when people do wear those worker protection suits.
Q: How are New Jersey hospitals preparing for the possibility of a patient infected with Ebola?
A: New Jersey hospitals are prepared for the possibility of an Ebola virus illness walking into their hospitals. All of our hospitals in New Jersey have isolation set up. All of our hospitals in New Jersey have infection control programs that are very well equipped to handle these types of merging infectious issues and they actually deal with infectious disease issues on a day-to-day basis as well.
Q: Is there a treatment for Ebola?
A: There is no specific treatment for Ebola other than what are currently in experimental trials at this point. Supportive care treatment of the symptoms are the forms of treatment at this point.