From the CDC ebola in body fluids can survive up to several days at room temperature.

[boomer55]

How long does Ebola live outside the body?
Ebola is killed with hospital-grade disinfectants (such as household bleach). Ebola on dried on surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops can survive for several hours; however, virus in body fluids (such as blood) can survive up to several days at room temperature.

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas.html




So saliva is a body fluid. If somebody with ebola sneezes then those droplets can survive and possibly infect someone several days later?

[snooper2]

1. spit on your counter and see how long it takes to evaporate

[boomer55]

3. what about in food, water and other things?

[MohRokTah]

2. The virus can live in a decmposing body for several days.

Cremation is the best way to deal with the bodies of those who die from Ebola.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. After the droplets dry up the virus will die in a few hours.

Droplets from sneezing aren't going to stay liquid more than a few minutes. So if you have a vial of blood or saliva that stays liquid and remains at room temperature it's infectious for a few days. If it's dried up it's infectious for only a few hours.

Don't panic...

[boomer55]

5. i'm not panicking.... I'm trying to understand the implications.. Can food or drink be infected for

a couple of days if someone bleeds, sneezes or drops other body liquids on them.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Don't eat or drink anything that somebody else has sneezed or bled on.

That's a good rule of thumb in any event, ebola or no ebola.

[kestrel91316]

8. Don't let people sick with ebola hang out around your food. End of problem.

This is why we put them in hospital isolation wards - so they don't spew virus all over Kingdom Come.

[kestrel91316]

7. Once the virus dries out it dies. Proteinaceous debris like saliva or blood can protect it from

drying for just so long, and then it's dry and noninfectious. Sneeze droplets dry out pretty quickly.

Liquid blood (for instance in a test tube) can remain infectious for days. Same for urine or feces or vomitus if it were just put in a container and kept from drying. Generally nobody does that though. Urine and feces go into the toilet, where the sewage treatment does the virus in. Vomit gets cleaned up, but if it's still wet when it's cleaned up then it's a hazard.

[boomer55]

9. There seem to be little square boxes around some peoples heads

That prevent them from thinking outside of it

If a food preparer who has (unknown to him) Ebola in the contagious stage and sneezes on food then that food, if stored properly, could (according to the CDC)remain contagious for several days at room temperature.

[macllyr]

10. I am glad I do not live in Paris or London at the moment (have to travel there however...)

Too bad Ebola can still be infectious after several days in a blood sample (so easy to hide in your luggage).

Nightmare : Having, at the same time, dozens of thousands of sick people in west Africa and dozens of thousand of so-called jihadists/terrorists willing to do kamikaze attacks in Europe/USA...

Mac L'lyr