Why get vaccinated?
Ebola vaccine can prevent Ebola virus disease (Zaire ebolavirus).
Ebola virus disease is a rare disease that most commonly affects people and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees). Outbreaks of Ebola virus disease occur mostly on the African continent.
Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with the blood, body fluids, and tissues of people or animals who are infected with the virus or who have died of Ebola virus disease.
Health care workers and family and friends in close contact with people with Ebola virus disease are at the highest risk of infection. There is little risk of catching Ebola virus disease for travelers or the general public who have not cared for or been in close contact with someone infected with Ebola virus.
A person can only spread Ebola virus to other people after they develop symptoms. Symptoms of Ebola virus disease may appear between 2 to 21 days after contact with the virus. Early symptoms of Ebola virus disease often include fever, aches, pain, sore throat and fatigue and progress to symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, unexplained hemorrhaging, and bleeding. Later, an infected person might experience symptoms of red eyes, skin rash, and hiccups.
Ebola virus disease is often deadly. Recovery depends on good supportive clinical care and the patient's immune response. Treatments that have become available in recent years are also increasing overall survival.
People who survive Ebola virus disease may have health problems after they recover. The most common problems are tiredness, headaches, muscle and joint pain, eye and vision problems (such as blurry vision, pain, redness, and sensitivity to light), weight gain, stomach pain, or loss of appetite. Other health problems can also occur. In some survivors, the virus may be hiding in certain areas of the body after they recover from the disease and can cause symptoms again later.
