According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), there is no evidence indicating that Ebola virus is spread by coughing or sneezing. Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola.
The virus is not transmitted through the air like measles. However, droplets from splashes or sprays of respiratory or other secretions from a person who is sick with Ebola could be infectious, and therefore certain precautions (called standard, contact, and droplet precautions) are recommended for use in healthcare settings to prevent the transmission of the virus from patients to healthcare personnel and other patients or family members.
The CDC also released an infographic that underscores that you cannot get Ebola through the air, through tap water or through food that has not had contact with Ebola-infected persons or animals.
“You can only get Ebola from touching the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with or has died from Ebola,” from “touching contaminated objects, like needles”, or “touching infected fruit bats or primates”, the infographic explains.
Similar World Health Organisation infographics are also being translated into Urdu for use in Pakistan
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2014.
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Thanks for this information and creating awareness.