DENVER EBOLA SCARE IS NOT CAUSE FOR CONCERN FOR MESA COUNTY RESIDENTS
- A Denver hospital tested a man for Ebola in late July because he had symptoms of the viral disease following a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he worked with sick people.
- The man tested negative for Ebola virus.
- The DRC had experienced an Ebola outbreak that was declared over on July 24, 2018, however another cluster of illness was found in a DRC village on Aug. 1, 2018.
- No suspect Ebola cases have been reported in Mesa County in 2018. The risk of an Ebola outbreak in our community is low at this time.
- Ebola is a rare and deadly disease that can be found in people and in nonhuman primates.
- During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, Mesa County Public Health (MCPH) monitored several travelers who had recently returned from higher risk areas.
- MCPH has plans in place to monitor any residents or visitors to our community should they experience symptoms of Ebola after traveling to higher risk areas as they are identified.
- Mary’s Medical Center is an Ebola Assessment Hospital – meaning the hospital is able to assess whether or not a person has the illness.
- If a person in Mesa County is diagnosed with Ebola, they will be transferred to Denver Health Medical Center, a designated Ebola Treatment Center.
- Ebola is spread through direct contact (through broken skin or unprotected mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth) with
- blood or body fluids (including but not limited to feces, saliva, sweat, urine, vomit, breast milk and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola,
- objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with the virus ,
- infected fruit bats or primates (apes and monkeys), and
- possibly from contact with semen from a man who has recovered from Ebola.
- Ebola is not spread through the air or by water, or in general, by food. There is no evidence that mosquitos or other insects can transmit Ebola virus.
- MCPH will notify the public should extra precautions be necessary regarding Ebola.