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If you have a confirmed infection with Ebola, this is subject to mandatory reporting. You can find out more here.

Ebola is a rare and life-threatening infectious disease. It belongs to the so-called viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHF) and is caused by the Ebola virus (EV).

Ebola is subject to mandatory reporting.


Competent authority

responsible health department

Which documents are required?

What information should be collected from potentially affected individuals?

  • Name and age of the patient
  • Exact information about complaints/symptoms and their onset and severity
  • Details of previous illnesses and medication taken, e.g. vaccinations and malaria prophylaxis (does not rule out malaria in principle), vaccinations.
  • Exact period of stay in an endemic area
  • Type and place of accommodation
  • Exact details of the travel route
  • Stay in caves
  • Occupational activities in laboratories
  • Further details of the stay, e.g. tourism, visiting relatives, professional activities in the endemic area
  • Contact with wild animals, consumption of wild animal meat
  • Sick persons in the environment, funerals
Legal basis
What else should I know?

How is Ebola transmitted?

The Ebola virus can be transmitted from person to person. Transmission occurs through direct physical contact with Ebola fever patients or deceased persons, especially through direct contact with their bodily fluids, e.g. blood, saliva, sweat, urine, stool or vomit. Before symptoms appear, people infected with Ebola virus are not contagious.

Transmission through the air has not yet been proven.

Transmission is also possible via objects that have come into contact with infectious fluids, e.g. needles, surgical instruments, clothing or bed linen.

The Ebola virus can also be transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals or infectious animal products, e.g. during hunting, meat preparation or consumption of undercooked meat (so-called "bushmeat") from animals from affected areas.

What is the incubation period?

The incubation period is at least two, but usually eight to ten days, and after 21 days it can be assumed that the disease is no longer expected.

How high is the risk of contracting the disease from infected persons?

The risk of infection is very high only in the case of unprotected direct contact with body fluids and excretions of Ebola fever patients and deceased persons, e.g. blood, saliva, sweat, urine, stool or vomit. Therefore, adequate protective measures must be taken during care, treatment and burial activities. General hygiene measures, especially hand hygiene, are also of particular importance.

How long is the risk of infection?

Patients are no longer considered contagious for a few days after symptoms have subsided.

Transmission through semen during sexual intercourse is still possible for several weeks. Those affected must be informed about this and advised on the necessary preventive measures.

Which risk groups are there in Germany?

Mainly people who have had direct physical contact with Ebola fever patients or deceased persons or their body fluids belong to the risk group. In addition to medical personnel, this risk primarily affects family caregivers of Ebola fever patients without adequate protection. Laboratory personnel who have worked with specimen material from Ebola fever patients may also be affected if protective measures against Ebola viruses were inadequate.

Symptoms

Early symptoms are non-specific and resemble a flu-like infection: fever, headache, musculoskeletal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

As the disease progresses, other symptoms may be added, but not all of them necessarily occur: Internal and external bleeding (hemorrhages), which can be severe, rash of the skin (exanthema), redness of the conjunctiva, sore throat, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, and shortness of breath.

Direct contact with an Ebola patient should be avoided. Medical personnel caring for a confirmed case must follow strict hygiene and isolation procedures.

What should a patient do if they suspect they have Ebola?

It is very important to remain calm. A telephone call should be made to a doctor with information about the suspected Ebola fever, a more detailed description of the symptoms, travel destinations and travel duration. Then the doctor will discuss the further procedure with the patient.

However, even if travel has occurred within the last three weeks to one of the affected areas, the likelihood of Ebola virus infection is very low if there has been no contact with a person who has contracted or died from Ebola fever.

Doctor's procedure: If the doctor can confirm a suspicion of infection with the Ebola virus, the relevant health authority should be informed and contact should be made with a specialist centre. Often, however, apparent suspicions can be ruled out during the telephone call to a specialized center.

Contact details of specialised centres can be found at www.stakob.de.

If condition permits, the patient should remain on site until confirmation or exclusion of suspected Ebola, e.g. at home, in the doctor's surgery or in isolation on the hospital ward. No admission to an emergency department should be made. Transportation should also be avoided if possible to prevent infection.

What are the preventive measures?

Unprotected direct contact with an Ebola fever patient or deceased person must be strictly avoided. Medical personnel caring for a reasonably suspected case or a patient with confirmed Ebola virus infection must follow strict hygiene and isolation procedures.

There is no approved vaccine.

Is there a specific therapy?

There is no approved specific therapy. Therefore, treatment is exclusively symptomatic, and the quality of medical care has an impact on mortality. The few specific therapeutic approaches are experimental.

What do travellers have to consider?

The Federal Foreign Office provides information on its website about medical risks abroad. It provides Information on countries and leaflets on diseases information on medical risks. Advice for travellers in several languages is also provided by the Bundesverband ÖGD and the ECDC provide information.

Individual advice for travellers is offered not only by specialised general practitioners but also by tropical institutes and, in some cases, public health offices.

How likely is it that Ebola fever will occur in Germany?

The risk of travellers bringing the disease to Germany or Europe is low, but it cannot be ruled out. Persons in the immediate vicinity of the infected persons would be at risk of infection due to human-to-human transmission. However, there is no risk to the population because Germany is thoroughly prepared for the treatment of people who have contracted Ebola fever. There is a network of special isolation wards that are designed both in terms of medical expertise and technical requirements for the treatment of such diseases (Working Group of Competence and Treatment Centres, STAKOB, www.stakob.rki.de). The staff there is specially trained for this situation and regularly trains in the care of patients under isolation conditions.

What happens if a case of Ebola fever is brought to Germany?

There is only a small risk of a person infected with the Ebola virus entering Germany. Should a patient nevertheless enter, the spread of the Ebola virus in Germany is practically impossible due to the good medical care and preparations for such events.

If symptoms typical of Ebola occur in air travellers during the flight, the pilot should inform the relevant airport, which must have the status of a medical airport, in accordance with international health regulations. There, the patient would be isolated and questioned by a doctor from the relevant health department. If the suspicion of Ebola fever is confirmed, the traveller would be taken to a special isolation ward for diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, persons who have been in close contact with such patients (seat neighbors and persons who have directly cared for the patient) would be registered by the health department and asked to be on the lookout for symptoms typical of Ebola in the next 21 days (maximum incubation period).

If a person infected with the Ebola virus first falls ill in Germany, he or she would also be admitted to a special isolation ward - as soon as the reasonable suspicion of Ebola fever has been established. All persons who had close contact with her are identified and registered by the responsible health department by interviewing the patient and her relatives or caregivers, informed about the possible infection and monitored in their everyday environment for 21 days for symptoms typical of Ebola.

Before symptoms appear, people infected with the Ebola virus are not infectious.

As the National Public Health Institute, the RKI works closely with the federal states on infection control. Federal states with an international airport have experience in dealing with diseases brought in from the tropics.

Author

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Teaser

If you have a confirmed infection with Ebola, this is subject to mandatory reporting. You can find out more here.

Competent authority

responsible health department

Which documents are required?

What information should be collected from potentially affected individuals?

  • Name and age of the patient
  • Exact information about complaints/symptoms and their onset and severity
  • Details of previous illnesses and medication taken, e.g. vaccinations and malaria prophylaxis (does not rule out malaria in principle), vaccinations.
  • Exact period of stay in an endemic area
  • Type and place of accommodation
  • Exact details of the travel route
  • Stay in caves
  • Occupational activities in laboratories
  • Further details of the stay, e.g. tourism, visiting relatives, professional activities in the endemic area
  • Contact with wild animals, consumption of wild animal meat
  • Sick persons in the environment, funerals

Legal basis

What else should I know?

How is Ebola transmitted?

The Ebola virus can be transmitted from person to person. Transmission occurs through direct physical contact with Ebola fever patients or deceased persons, especially through direct contact with their bodily fluids, e.g. blood, saliva, sweat, urine, stool or vomit. Before symptoms appear, people infected with Ebola virus are not contagious.

Transmission through the air has not yet been proven.

Transmission is also possible via objects that have come into contact with infectious fluids, e.g. needles, surgical instruments, clothing or bed linen.

The Ebola virus can also be transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals or infectious animal products, e.g. during hunting, meat preparation or consumption of undercooked meat (so-called "bushmeat") from animals from affected areas.

What is the incubation period?

The incubation period is at least two, but usually eight to ten days, and after 21 days it can be assumed that the disease is no longer expected.

How high is the risk of contracting the disease from infected persons?

The risk of infection is very high only in the case of unprotected direct contact with body fluids and excretions of Ebola fever patients and deceased persons, e.g. blood, saliva, sweat, urine, stool or vomit. Therefore, adequate protective measures must be taken during care, treatment and burial activities. General hygiene measures, especially hand hygiene, are also of particular importance.

How long is the risk of infection?

Patients are no longer considered contagious for a few days after symptoms have subsided.

Transmission through semen during sexual intercourse is still possible for several weeks. Those affected must be informed about this and advised on the necessary preventive measures.

Which risk groups are there in Germany?

Mainly people who have had direct physical contact with Ebola fever patients or deceased persons or their body fluids belong to the risk group. In addition to medical personnel, this risk primarily affects family caregivers of Ebola fever patients without adequate protection. Laboratory personnel who have worked with specimen material from Ebola fever patients may also be affected if protective measures against Ebola viruses were inadequate.

Symptoms

Early symptoms are non-specific and resemble a flu-like infection: fever, headache, musculoskeletal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

As the disease progresses, other symptoms may be added, but not all of them necessarily occur: Internal and external bleeding (hemorrhages), which can be severe, rash of the skin (exanthema), redness of the conjunctiva, sore throat, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, and shortness of breath.

Direct contact with an Ebola patient should be avoided. Medical personnel caring for a confirmed case must follow strict hygiene and isolation procedures.

What should a patient do if they suspect they have Ebola?

It is very important to remain calm. A telephone call should be made to a doctor with information about the suspected Ebola fever, a more detailed description of the symptoms, travel destinations and travel duration. Then the doctor will discuss the further procedure with the patient.

However, even if travel has occurred within the last three weeks to one of the affected areas, the likelihood of Ebola virus infection is very low if there has been no contact with a person who has contracted or died from Ebola fever.

Doctor's procedure: If the doctor can confirm a suspicion of infection with the Ebola virus, the relevant health authority should be informed and contact should be made with a specialist centre. Often, however, apparent suspicions can be ruled out during the telephone call to a specialized center.

Contact details of specialised centres can be found at www.stakob.de.

If condition permits, the patient should remain on site until confirmation or exclusion of suspected Ebola, e.g. at home, in the doctor's surgery or in isolation on the hospital ward. No admission to an emergency department should be made. Transportation should also be avoided if possible to prevent infection.

What are the preventive measures?

Unprotected direct contact with an Ebola fever patient or deceased person must be strictly avoided. Medical personnel caring for a reasonably suspected case or a patient with confirmed Ebola virus infection must follow strict hygiene and isolation procedures.

There is no approved vaccine.

Is there a specific therapy?

There is no approved specific therapy. Therefore, treatment is exclusively symptomatic, and the quality of medical care has an impact on mortality. The few specific therapeutic approaches are experimental.

What do travellers have to consider?

The Federal Foreign Office provides information on its website about medical risks abroad. It provides Information on countries and leaflets on diseases information on medical risks. Advice for travellers in several languages is also provided by the Bundesverband ÖGD and the ECDC provide information.

Individual advice for travellers is offered not only by specialised general practitioners but also by tropical institutes and, in some cases, public health offices.

How likely is it that Ebola fever will occur in Germany?

The risk of travellers bringing the disease to Germany or Europe is low, but it cannot be ruled out. Persons in the immediate vicinity of the infected persons would be at risk of infection due to human-to-human transmission. However, there is no risk to the population because Germany is thoroughly prepared for the treatment of people who have contracted Ebola fever. There is a network of special isolation wards that are designed both in terms of medical expertise and technical requirements for the treatment of such diseases (Working Group of Competence and Treatment Centres, STAKOB, www.stakob.rki.de). The staff there is specially trained for this situation and regularly trains in the care of patients under isolation conditions.

What happens if a case of Ebola fever is brought to Germany?

There is only a small risk of a person infected with the Ebola virus entering Germany. Should a patient nevertheless enter, the spread of the Ebola virus in Germany is practically impossible due to the good medical care and preparations for such events.

If symptoms typical of Ebola occur in air travellers during the flight, the pilot should inform the relevant airport, which must have the status of a medical airport, in accordance with international health regulations. There, the patient would be isolated and questioned by a doctor from the relevant health department. If the suspicion of Ebola fever is confirmed, the traveller would be taken to a special isolation ward for diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, persons who have been in close contact with such patients (seat neighbors and persons who have directly cared for the patient) would be registered by the health department and asked to be on the lookout for symptoms typical of Ebola in the next 21 days (maximum incubation period).

If a person infected with the Ebola virus first falls ill in Germany, he or she would also be admitted to a special isolation ward - as soon as the reasonable suspicion of Ebola fever has been established. All persons who had close contact with her are identified and registered by the responsible health department by interviewing the patient and her relatives or caregivers, informed about the possible infection and monitored in their everyday environment for 21 days for symptoms typical of Ebola.

Before symptoms appear, people infected with the Ebola virus are not infectious.

As the National Public Health Institute, the RKI works closely with the federal states on infection control. Federal states with an international airport have experience in dealing with diseases brought in from the tropics.

Author

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

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