Ecolab, 3M send medical supplies to West Africa....
St. Paul-based Ecolab is donating $1.8 million of germ-killing sanitizers and disinfectants in the global response to control the deadly Ebola virus
Ecolab, 3M Rally to Fight Ebola Outbreak
WHAT is Ebola?
Ebola virus (EV) causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), a severe, often fatal disease in humans and primates. The virus is a member of the family Filoviridae. Each virion is bound by a lipid (fatty) membrane. The EV viral particle can adopt a number of shapes (known as pleomorphism)1.
It was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Outbreaks appear sporadically. An outbreak began in Guinea, West Africa in March 2014. Between March and August 6, 2014, 1,779 cases including 961 deaths had been reported in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. On August 8, 2014, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern2.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
EHF is a severe, acute illness often characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache, nausea and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding3,4. The case fatality rate can be as high as 90 percent
HOW IS IT TRANSMITTED?
EV infection is most likely animal-borne with fruit bats being the most likely source in Africa. A chain of infection is established when the saliva or feces of infected bats infect wildlife, such as monkeys, apes and pigs. Outbreaks in humans are thought to start when the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal either in the process of slaughtering or through consumption of blood, milk or raw or undercooked meat. Human-to-human transmission is caused by direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person and exposure to objects (such as needles) that have been contaminated with infectious material3,4. During outbreaks, those at highest risk include health care workers and family and friends of an infected individual
EV infection is most likely animal-borne with fruit bats being the most likely source in Africa. A chain of infection is established when the saliva or feces of infected bats infect wildlife, such as monkeys, apes and pigs. Outbreaks in humans are thought to start when the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal either in the process of slaughtering or through consumption of blood, milk or raw or undercooked meat. Human-to-human transmission is caused by direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person and exposure to objects (such as needles) that have been contaminated with infectious material3,4. During outbreaks, those at highest risk include health care workers and family and friends of an infected individual
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