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Ebola
General Information & Precautions Taken in Yolo County
October 2022: On September 20, 2022, the Ministry of Health of Uganda declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) caused by Sudan virus (species Sudan ebolavirus) in Uganda. This is the fifth outbreak of EVD caused by Sudan virus in Uganda since 2000. No suspected, probable, or confirmed EVD cases related to this outbreak have been reported in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Homeland Security are currently funneling air passengers traveling to the U.S. who have been to Uganda through Atlanta, Chicago, New York, or Washington D.C. Any California resident identified as having traveled to a high-risk area will be referred to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for follow up. CDPH will work with Yolo County to identify returning travelers, conduct risk assessments, and monitor returned travelers for development of symptoms.
For more information on Ebola and the current outbreak in Uganda, visit the CDPH Ebola webpage.
The risk of an Ebola in the United States remains very low. There are no Ebola cases in Yolo County. The Yolo County Department of Health Services has been preparing, and will continue to prepare, for the unlikely chance that a person sick with Ebola comes to a Yolo County hospital.
The Yolo County Department of Health Services is in regular and frequent communication with local hospitals to share information about Ebola. These communications provide guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) about how to identify possible cases and prevent the spread of Ebola.
Hospital staff throughout Yolo County and the United States is routinely trained to put protections in place when dealing with contagious patients. Protections include gloves, waterproof gowns, face masks and eye protection. These measures are very effective in preventing the spread of infection. Yolo County HHSA staff continue to make recommendations to local hospital staff and emergency responders for use of proper personal protection equipment. All Yolo County hospitals and first responder agencies are adequately equipped with proper personal protection equipment
Hospitals have also have been given guidelines about isolating any individual with suspected Ebola virus, to prevent the spread of the virus to health care workers, patients and the public.
If a person in our county is suspected to have Ebola, the Yolo County Department of Health Services, local hospitals and the local medical community, with other partners, will work together to keep patients, visitors, employees and the public safe.
Ebola Facts
- There are four species of Ebola viruses that affect humans. The current outbreak in Uganda is caused by the Sudan virus (species Sudan ebolavirus). The 2014-2016 outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone was of the Ebola virus (species Zaire ebolavirus)
- There is a vaccine available for the Zaire strain of ebolavirus. That vaccine is not effective against the current outbreak strain of Sudan ebolavirus
- Ebola can only be spread by a person who is sick and has symptoms of the disease. The disease is spread by contact with a sick person’s bodily fluids.
- To be considered a suspected/potential Ebola patient as of October 17, 2022, the following must apply:
- Travel to affected areas of Uganda within 21 days (3 weeks)
AND - Symptoms consistent with EVD: fever greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit , and additional symptoms such as severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain or unexplained bleeding
- Travel to affected areas of Uganda within 21 days (3 weeks)
- The Ebola virus has a 2-21 day incubation period. A person transmits EVD after becoming symptomatic. EVD is spread through direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with:
- Blood or body fluids (urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, amniotic fluid, and semen) of a person who is sick with or has died from EVD
- Objects (clothes, bedding, needles, or medical equipment) contaminated with body fluids from a person with EVD
- Semen from a man who recovered from EVD (through oral, vaginal, or anal sex)