Health

Do You Know How Ebola Is Spread?

This picture taken on October 20, 2014 in a Geneva University Hospital shows an information sheet and an antibacterial hand gel in a room during a press preview displaying facilities for caring possible Ebola patients. The hospital will test an experimental Ebola VSV-EBOV vaccine developed at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg and offered by the Canadian government to the Geneva-based World Health Organization. AFP PHOTO / RICHARD JUILLIARTRichard Juilliart/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images

By Katie Levingston and Megan Allison

October 17, 2014

1 minute to read

Boston.com asked people around the city “How do you get Ebola?’’ Although we expected confused responses, we were surprised and somewhat relieved at the half-way accurate answers we received. Ebola is spread through direct contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids while they are contagious (displaying symptoms of Ebola). It is not possible to get Ebola through the air, water, or food—though some Bostonian residents and visitors might think so.

Even if someone has been exposed, symptoms may appear in as little as two days, and as many as 21 days, after exposure. The CDC says the average is 8 to 10 days.

Ebola symptoms:

-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)

Massachusetts state public health officials have said that the likelihood of contracting Ebola in the state is very low. Need more details? Here’s an MGH physician dropping some knowledge for you.