The Science Is Settled.
Nine days ago, the CDC reported on its website that you could catch Ebola from droplets that are coughed or sneezed from an infected person three feet away from you.
From the CDC website on October 24:
Droplet spread happens when germs travelling inside droplets that are coughed or sneezed from a sick person enter the eyes, nose, or mouth of another person. Droplets travel short distances, less that 3 feet (1 meter) from one person to another.
Two days ago, on Friday October 31, 2014, the CDC website changed the language to say you could catch Ebola from droplets that are coughed or sneezed from an infected person six feet away from you.
The CDC changed it’s warning on Friday, October 31, 2014. They revision stated that a person within 6 feet of an Ebola victim may potentially become infected:
A person might also get infected by touching a surface or object that has germs on it and then touching their eyes, mouth or nose. Droplets generally travel shorter distances, less that about 6 feet from a source patient.
Germs like plague, meningitis and Ebola can be spread through large droplets.
But that was Friday.
Now the CDC has removed its coughing-sneezing warning altogether-
“There is no evidence that Ebola is spread by coughing or sneezing.”
From the current CDC website:
There is no evidence that Ebola is spread by coughing or sneezing. Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola; the virus is not transmitted through the air (like measles virus). However, large droplets (splashes or sprays) of respiratory or other secretions from a person who is sick with Ebola could be infectious, and therefore certain precautions (called standard, contact, and droplet precautions) are recommended for use in healthcare settings to prevent the transmission of Ebola from patients to healthcare personnel and other patients or family members.
In Africa Ebola is called “The Nurse Killer.” Over 230 medical professionals including doctors, nurses and aides have died from the disease so far. Obviously, there is much more to learn about this deadly disease.
