Scientists: Are we *sure* Ebola isn’t airborne?

Scientists do not exclude the possibility of Ebola virus transmission by air through aerosolised particles.

 A health agent checks a passenger leaving Conakry's airport on Tuesday as West Africa's Ebola outbreak spread. | AFP

 

It was commonly considered that the deadly disease is transmitted human-to-human through direct contact with infected patients or through contact victim’s body fluids. However the fresh studies suggest another possible development.

The fears appeared in the case of Patrick Sawyer travelling to Nigeria who got infected with the virus and died at a hospital in Lagos. Therefore, implications of the possibility of Ebola transmission in an enclosed environment, such as an aircraft cabin, have emerged.

Studies showed that Ebola virus is transmissible to monkeys from infected pigs without them coming into direct contact. The Ebola virus survives for days outside infected hosts and can "ride" on aerosolised droplets to spread to potential victims.
To demonstrate this, Canadian scientists housed the pigs carrying the virus in pens with the monkeys in close proximity, but separated by a wire barrier. In 8 days some monkeys started experiencing symptoms associated with Ebola. Which suggests aerosolised organisms can possibly cause infection.

According to the Canadian Public Health Agency:
"The virus can survive in liquid or dried material for a number of days. Infectivity is found to be stable at room temperature or at 4 degrees Celsius for several days, and indefinitely stable at -70 degrees Celsius. Infectivity can be preserved by lyophilisation. Hence, it is implied that Ebola viruses can survive for several days on common objects such as door knobs or household surfaces. If an infected Ebola victim runs around touching such common objects after cleaning blood or mucous from his nose, another innocent victim can easily infect himself by touching the same objects and then eating some food that places the virus in his mouth."

The currently incurable disease has already claimed hundreds of lives in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Yesterday Nigeria was hit by the news about the second case of infection with the virus by Patrick Sawyers’s doctor. Health officials have revealed that now there are 8 suspected cases of infection with Ebola – all these people were in contact with Sawyer who became the first victim of the virus on the Nigerian territory.