HAN 364 is now available at http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00364.asp
This an official
CDC HEALTH ADVISORY
Distributed via the CDC Health Alert Network
August 1, 2014 20:00 ET (8:00 PM ET)
CDCHAN-00364
August 1, 2014 20:00 ET (8:00 PM ET)
CDCHAN-00364
Summary
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to work closely with
the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners to better understand and
manage the public health risks posed by Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
To
date, no cases have been reported in the United States. The purpose of this
health update is
1) to provide updated guidance to
healthcare providers and state and local health departments regarding who
should be suspected of having EVD,
2) to clarify which specimens
should be obtained and how to submit for diagnostic testing, and
3) to
provide hospital infection control guidelines.
U.S. hospitals can safely manage a patient with EVD by following
recommended isolation and infection control procedures.
Please disseminate this
information to infectious disease specialists, intensive care physicians,
primary care physicians, hospital epidemiologists, infection control
professionals, and hospital administration, as well as to emergency departments
and microbiology laboratories.
Background
CDC is working with the World Health Organization (WHO), the
ministries of health of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and other
international organizations in response to an outbreak of EVD in West Africa,
which was first reported in late March 2014. As of July 27, 2014, according to
WHO, a total of 1,323 cases and 729 deaths (case fatality 55-60%) had been
reported across the three affected countries. This is the largest outbreak of
EVD ever documented and the first recorded in West Africa.
EVD is characterized by sudden onset of fever and malaise,
accompanied by other nonspecific signs and symptoms, such as myalgia, headache,
vomiting, and diarrhea. Patients with severe forms of the disease may develop
hemorrhagic symptoms and multi-organ dysfunction, including hepatic damage,
renal failure, and central nervous system involvement, leading to shock and
death.
The fatality rate can vary from 40-90%.
In outbreak settings, Ebola virus is typically first spread to humans
after contact with infected wildlife and is then spread person-to-person
through direct contact with bodily fluids such as, but not limited to, blood,
urine, sweat, semen, and breast milk. The incubation period is usually 8–10
days (ranges from 2–21 days). Patients can transmit the virus while febrile and
through later stages of disease, as well as postmortem, when persons touch the
body during funeral preparations.
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Black Emergency Managers
Association
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1231 Good Hope
Road S.E.
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Washington, D.C.
20020
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Office:
202-618-9097
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bEMA
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“Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past
and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” ―
David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
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