Alert and response to the Ebola Virus Disease epidemic
4. Summary
For your own safety, the safety of your patients and of your close contacts, VHF and Ebola in particular should be considered during the differential diagnosis. It is also important to isolate the suspected case and that appropriate confinement measures be taken for the disease. Healthcare authorities need to be informed and blood samples should be collected and their safe transport organized and done properly.
According to the WHO, Ebola/VHF needs to be suspected even if there is no ongoing outbreak in the following case:
The patient’s general condition is deeply deteriorating and/or the patient has a temperature above 38°C (for more than 72 hours and less than 2 weeks), but showed no improvement after diagnosis and treatment for the most frequent cause of such symptoms in the region (malaria, typhoid fever, etc.)
If the patient shows in addition at least one of the following signs:
Hemorrhages of the mucus membranes, gastro-intestinal, at sites of injection or red conjunctives
State of shock
Contact during the 21 days preceding the symptoms with a person with an unexplained fever and hemorrhages or who died after such symptoms