Updates On The Ebola Situation

The 2014 Ebola outbreak is one of the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first in West Africa.

Collaborative meetings are being held in Bermuda in relation to preparedness measures relevant to the current outbreak of Ebola in western Africa, the Health Ministry said.

Included in these talks with the Ministry of Health, Seniors and Environment and the Chief Medical Officer, are officials from the Bermuda Hospitals Board Emergency Department, Fire and Police services, Departments of Airport Operations, Civil Aviation, shipping agents Meyer Agency and the Pilot Service, together with Customs and Immigration officials and others.

Cases in the Ebola outbreak this year have risen to 2,240, including 1,229 deaths, the World Health Organization said, with the deaths occurring in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

There are no general bans on international travel and trade. However, the Ministry advises the public to avoid non-essential travel to locations where an outbreak of Ebola is occurring. The World Health Organization identifies the current outbreak as occurring in western Africa affecting four countries: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Ebola virus is not spread through the air, but through contact with blood and other body fluids such as urine, saliva, and semen of infected people. The risk from casual contact, such as shaking hands or sitting next to someone who is not displaying symptoms of illness is likely to be very low according to our regional health authority, Caribbean Public Health Agency.

Travelers are advised as always to stay informed of international travel advisories and alerts posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (www.cdc.gov/travel).If you must travel to any destinations at high risk for Ebola, please make sure to do the following:

1. Practice careful hygiene. Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of ill persons.
2. Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids.
3. Avoid funeral or burial rituals that require handling the body of someone who has died from Ebola.
4. Avoid contact with animals [such as primates, rodents, bats and livestock] or with raw meat. Avoid eating primates, bats and other “bush meat.”

If you become ill during or after travelling to a country where there are cases of Ebola Virus, you should delay further travel until cleared to travel by a doctor or public health authority. Seek medical care immediately if you develop fever, headache, achiness, sore throat, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, rash, or red eyes up to 21 days after your return. Tell the doctor about your recent travel and your symptoms before you go to the office or emergency room. Advance notice will help the doctor care for you and protect other people who may be in the office.

CREDITS

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/index.html?s_cid=cdc_homepage_feature_001

http://bernews.com/2014/08/health-ministry-updates-on-ebola-situation/

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2014_08_20_ebola/en/