Preventive measures

For travelers who absolutely need to go to an affected region, it is advisable to take the following preventive measures:

• Practice good hygiene. Always wash your hands after coming into contact with people or objects in a public area.
• Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of infected people. Avoid sexual contact with sick people, or people who recovered from an ebola infection less than 7 weeks ago.
• Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids, e.g. needles.
• Avoid contact with corpses and/or bodily fluids from deceased patients.
• Avoid contact with bats, avoid caves.
• Avoid contact with other animals, especially monkeys.
• Avoid contact with ‘bush meat’ and ‘road kill’.

What should you do when returning from an affected region?

Travelers to an affected region who develop symptoms within 3 weeks after return should urgently seek expert medical advice. Travelers to an affected country who upon their return fear that they have been exposed to Ebola virus should also seek medical attention for a proper risk assessment.