Ebola disease: Prevention and risks

On this page

• How Ebola disease spreads
• Preventing Ebola disease
• Risks of getting Ebola disease
• Who is most at risk

How Ebola disease spreads

Ebola disease is spread through:

• direct contact with the body fluids or tissues of an infected animal or person experiencing Ebola disease symptoms
• contact with semen or breast milk from a person who recovered from Ebola disease

It is not spread through the air or through casual contact, like sitting in the same room.

Person to person

Person to person contact includes contact with the body fluids or tissues of an infected person with Ebola disease symptoms, such as:

• blood
• urine
• feces
• vomit
• saliva
• sweat
• semen
• breast milk

It also includes:

• contact with the body or body fluids of someone who died from Ebola disease
• sexual contact with someone who has Ebola disease
• contact with semen of someone who has recovered from Ebola disease

During pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding, an infected person can transmit the disease to their baby.

Contact with contaminated objects

Contact with contaminated objects includes, contact with surfaces, materials (such as bedding) or medical equipment (such as needles) contaminated with a virus that can cause Ebola disease.

Animal to human

Only infected animals pose a risk of Ebola disease.

Animal to human contact can include close contact (such as handling or eating) with live or dead infected animals or their body fluids, like:

• gorillas
• monkeys
• chimpanzees
• bats
• porcupines
• forest antelope
• pigs

No animals in Canada have been found to be naturally infected with a virus that can cause Ebola disease.

Preventing Ebola disease

There are things you can do to reduce your risk if you:

• are in a region with an Ebola disease outbreak
• may be exposed by a traveller returning from a region with an Ebola disease outbreak

Practice good hygiene

Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.

Avoid direct contact with other people's body fluids

Avoid direct, unprotected contact with the body fluids and tissues of:

• sick people
• those who have died from Ebola disease or an unknown illness

Avoid contact with anything that may have come in contact with infected body fluids, such as:

• toilets
• linens
• clothing
• surfaces
• toiletries

Avoid high-risk areas and activities

Avoid all places and activities that could result in exposure. This includes places where sick people are being cared for without appropriate infection control measures.

In Ebola disease-affected areas, avoid all high-risk activities such as:

• having unprotected direct contact with sick people
• participating in unsafe burial practices
• handling or eating animals (alive, sick or dead), including bushmeat

If you can't avoid high-risk areas or activities, reduce your risk by taking proper precautions, such as wearing:

• masks
• gloves
• gowns
• goggles

Avoid unprotected sexual activity

Avoid sexual activity with anyone who is currently sick, including oral, vaginal or anal sex.

Avoid contact with semen from anyone who has recovered from Ebola disease until testing shows the virus is no longer present. Viruses that cause Ebola disease can last for at least 12 months in semen.

If you've recovered from Ebola disease, you should:

• avoid sexual contact for at least 12 months, or
• use condoms correctly and consistently

Safer condom use

Follow safe burial practices

Avoid direct, unprotected contact with the body of a person who died of Ebola disease or an unknown illness.

If you're taking part in burial practices, always:

• maintain good personal hygiene
• use proper personal protective equipment, like:
  • masks
  • gowns
  • gloves
  • goggles

Avoid contact with wild animals

Avoid contact with live and dead wild animals, including:

• meat
• feces
• body fluids

No animals in Canada have been naturally infected with a virus that causes Ebola disease.

Risks of getting Ebola disease

In Canada, the risk of getting Ebola disease is very low.

The viruses that can cause Ebola disease are naturally found in certain animals in Africa. Some animals become ill when infected, like monkeys and gorillas. Others may not, like bats. People are at risk of getting infected if they have direct contact with these animals or their body fluids.

An infected person may spread Ebola disease to others, which causes an outbreak. An outbreak might be limited to a specific small area, or it might spread to a large geographic area. This was the case in the West African outbreak between 2014 and 2016.

The risk depends on a person's activities in an Ebola disease-affected area, and whether they take appropriate precautions to prevent infection.

Who is most at risk

You may be at higher risk of getting Ebola disease if you:

• are caring for someone who has Ebola disease
• have unprotected sexual contact with someone who:
  • has Ebola disease
  • is recovering from an infection with a virus that causes Ebola disease
• work in a laboratory or health care setting with a source of the virus
• take part in unsafe burial practices, including preparing the deceased for burial
• handle or consume wild animals hunted or gathered for food in affected areas
• travel to an area affected by Ebola disease, including staying in a community with active transmission

If you're infected with a virus that causes Ebola disease while pregnant or breastfeeding, your child is at risk of becoming infected during:

• pregnancy
• delivery
• breastfeeding