Ebola Prevention

Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory Suites

All research done on infectious Ebola and Marburg are done in a maximum biological containment setup known as Biosafety Level 4 (BSL4). BSL4 laboratories require extremely specialized equipment to prevent the spread of the pathogens that are investigated in them. If unauthorized construction of a BSL4 lab were to begin, the authorities would be alerted by people purchasing the BSL4 lab equipment.

Ebola is stable and remains infective at room temperature (20°C), but it is mostly destroyed at 60°C. Its infectivity is also terminated by gamma and ultraviolet radiation, lipid solvents (dissolves the outer lipid membrane), ß-propiolactone, and commercial hypochlorite (bleach) and phenolic disinfectants.

Nonhuman Primate Quarantine Regulations

After the Ebola Reston outbreaks in Reston, Virginia and Alice, Texas, the authorities have implemented a more rigorous quarantine program for imported monkeys.

Ebola Outbreak Precautionary Measures

References:

Fields, Bernard, ed. " Filoviridae: Marburg and Ebola Viruses." Field's Virology, Third Edition. Lippincott-Raven: New York. 1996. 1161-1176.