Woman’s Hospital Ebola Preparedness

Woman’s Hospital has the ability to safely isolate and care for a patient situation should Ebola be suspected, given symptoms and travel or contact history. Capabilities at the hospital include personal protective equipment as well as isolation rooms in Woman’s Assessment Center and Adult ICU. The hospital is taking every precaution to protect its patients and employees by evaluating them per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

Woman’s is receiving the most up-to-date information through a variety of national and local resources including the CDC, the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) & Office of Public Health, and the American Hospital Association.

While Woman’s Assessment Center is not a full-service emergency room, it does care for pregnant women and women with cancer.

Ebola Facts

Ebola is spread through:

  • Direct contact with blood or body fluids (including but not limited to urine, saliva, sweat, feces, 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 animals

Ebola is NOT spread through the air or by water, or in general, by food.

There is NO evidence that mosquitoes or other insects can transmit Ebola virus. 

Ebola FAQ

What are the symptoms of Ebola?

  • Fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)
  • Severe headache
  • Muscle pain
  • Weakness
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Abdominal (stomach) pain
  • Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)

When do Ebola symptoms appear?

Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days.

How is Ebola treated?

No FDA-approved vaccine or medicine is available for Ebola. Symptoms are treated as they appear. The following basic interventions, when used early, can significantly improve the chances of survival:

  • Providing intravenous fluids (IV)and balancing electrolytes (body salts)
  • Maintaining oxygen status and blood pressure
  • Treating other infections if they occur

Recovery from Ebola depends on good supportive clinical care and the patient’s immune response.  People who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years.

What are body fluids?

Ebola has been detected in blood and many body fluids. Body fluids include saliva, mucus, vomit, feces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine, and semen.

Can Ebola spread by coughing? By sneezing?

Unlike respiratory illnesses like measles or chickenpox, which can be transmitted by virus particles that remain suspended in the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes, Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids of a person who has symptoms of Ebola disease. Although coughing and sneezing are not common symptoms of Ebola, if a symptomatic patient with Ebola coughs or sneezes on someone, and saliva or mucus come into contact with that person’s eyes, nose or mouth, these fluids may transmit the disease.

What does “direct contact” mean?

Direct contact means that body fluids (blood, saliva, mucus, vomit, urine, or feces) from an infected person (alive or dead) have touched someone’s eyes, nose, or mouth or an open cut, wound, or abrasion.

How long does Ebola live outside the body?

Ebola is killed with hospital-grade disinfectants (such as household bleach). Ebola on dried on surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops can survive for several hours; however, virus in body fluids (such as blood) can survive up to several days at room temperature.

Are patients who recover from Ebola immune for life? Can they get it again — the same or a different strain?

Recovery from Ebola depends on good supportive clinical care and a patient’s immune response. Available evidence shows that people who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years, possibly longer. We don’t know if people who recover are immune for life or if they can become infected with a different species of Ebola.

If someone survives Ebola, can he or she still spread the virus?

Once someone recovers from Ebola, they can no longer spread the virus. However, Ebola virus has been found in semen for up to 3 months. People who recover from Ebola are advised to abstain from sex or use condoms for 3 months.

Can Ebola be spread through mosquitoes?

There is no evidence that mosquitoes or other insects can transmit Ebola virus. Only mammals (for example, humans, bats, monkeys and apes) have shown the ability to spread and become infected with Ebola virus.

Ebola Resources