DATE: October 3, 2014

SUBJECT: Ebola Update

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed, through laboratory tests, the
first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States in a person who had traveled to Dallas, Texas
from Liberia. Click here for the CDC press release.

Our local medical and public health communities have been receiving updates and guidance on
Ebola from the CDC and are prepared to respond to a case in Northeast Ohio. Click here for the
latest information, which includes important guidance for EMS and the healthcare community.

The best way to avoi d exposure to Ebola is to avoid travelling to areas where transmission is
occurring; currently, these areas are in the following West African Countries:
Guinea
Liberia
Sierra Leone
Nigeria
Democratic Republic of the Congo

The data health officials have seen in the past few decades, since Ebola was discovered, indicate
that it is not spread through food, water or through the air. Ebola is spread through direct
contact with bodily fluids of a sick person or exposure to objects such as needles that have been
contaminated.

People that have been exposed should monitor for symptoms for 21 days. Symptoms of Ebola
include:
Fever (greater than 38.6C or 101.5F)
Severe Headache
Muscle Pain
Weakness
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Abdominal (stomach) Pain
Unexplained Hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising).

People are not contagious after exposure unless they develop symptoms. There is no FDA-
approved vaccine available for Ebola.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep you updated with the most current
information as it becomes available.

For more information visit us on the web at www.clevelandhealth.org.