How is Ebola spread? That’s what an increasing number of people are wondering as new potential cases are reported across the United States and Europe while the disease takes more lives in Africa.
The virus is mostly spread through direct contact--or, in other words, through broken skin or mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth--with a range of material.
This includes blood or bodily fluids such as urine, saliva, and sweat of a person who is sick with Ebola; objects such as needles and syringes that have been contaminated with the virus; and infected animals.
Only mammals--such as humans, bats, and monkeys--are believed to be able to become infected with and spread the virus.
The virus can also live the longest in semen--for up to three months. Abstinence is recommended for at least three months for people who have recovered from the disease.
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control are insisting that Ebola cannot spread through air or by water, but other researchers are calling that claim into question.
For instance, researchers at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) say that there is scientific and epidemiologic evidence that Ebola virus has the potential to be transmitted via infectious aerosol particles,” including breath.
