As the response to the latest Ebola outbreak continues in DR Congo and other parts of Africa, many health officials, including the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), are putting measures in place to track and prevent the spread of the disease.
Explained By: Ralitsa N. Massah | LVL Fact Checker
On June 2, Dr. Sia Watta Camanor, the Interim Director General of NPHIL spoke at the Ministry of Information press briefing, updating the public about the status of the country.
She used specific health terms that are important for classifying people based on their level of risk, symptoms, and laboratory status.
Understanding these terms will help the public follow the situation accurately and avoid spreading or receiving misinformation.
In this explainer, we provide contextual definitions of these terms.
Who is a Traveler
A traveler is a person moving from one country or one region to another, particularly from an area that is currently affected by the Ebola disease. They may unknowingly carry the disease from one country to another if they have been exposed to it.
For this reason, countries often strengthen screening measures at airports, seaports, and borders during outbreaks.
For example, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) and neighboring countries have increased surveillance efforts due to the ongoing outbreak in eastern DRC.
Who is considered a Contact
A contact is someone who has been exposed to a suspected or confirmed Ebola patient through direct physical contact or by exposure to bodily fluids.
According to WHO, contacts may be family members, healthcare workers, caregivers, or anyone who handled contaminated materials.
Contacts are to be quarantined or monitored for 21 days, which is the maximal incubation period for Ebola. This allows health workers to identify potential cases before they spread.
What is a Suspected Case?
A suspected case is a person showing symptoms of Ebola, but has not received laboratory confirmation that he or she has Ebola.
Common symptoms may include fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and in some cases bleeding.
The WHO Ebola Fact Sheet states that the symptoms typically start between two and 21 days after exposure. Suspected cases can trigger immediate investigation, testing, isolation, and contact tracing to prevent further spread.
What is a Probable Case?
WHO defined probable case as someone who meets the clinical criteria for Ebola and has a clear epidemiological link to a confirmed case, but there is no laboratory confirmation. This may be a person who is already dead but showed Ebola symptoms and had known exposure, or an individual who has the symptoms but their test result is unavailable or inconclusive.
Probable cases are treated as Ebola cases for public health response purposes because they are highly likely to be infected.
What is a Confirmed Case?
Health experts state that a confirmed case is a person whose Ebola infection has been verified through laboratory testing.
According to experts, laboratory testing is required to officially confirm the infection. Confirmed cases provide evidence of active transmission and initiate a full outbreak response, including treatment, isolation, and contact tracing.
What is Epidemiological Link?
CDC defines an epidemiological link as a connection between a person and a known Ebola case or outbreak setting. They may include living with an infected individual, caring for an Ebola patient, attending a funeral of an Ebola victim and direct contact with infectious bodily fluids.
These links help health workers determine how the virus is spreading and identify others who may have been exposed.
Contact Tracing
Contact tracing as defined by WHO, is the process of identifying and monitoring everyone who may have been exposed to an Ebola patient. According to reports from DRC health authorities, contact tracing remains one of the major challenges and priorities in the current outbreak response. Contact tracing helps health workers detect new cases early and stop transmission chains before they expand.
What is Isolation?
Isolation refers to separating a suspected, probable, or confirmed Ebola patient from healthy individuals. The Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. Isolation reduces the risk of transmission while patients receive care.
Points of Entry (PoE)
POE refers to airports, seaports, and land borders. They are important because these locations are where travelers go in and out of a country and are critical for screening and early detection of people who may have been exposed to Ebola.
Keeping Surveillance
Surveillance is the continuous collection, analysis, and reporting of health information to detect and respond to outbreaks.
The current DRC response includes enhanced surveillance, rapid response teams, cross-border monitoring, and community awareness campaigns. Strong surveillance systems help countries detect cases early and respond before outbreaks become widespread.
In Summary
Terms such as traveler, contact, suspected case, probable case, and confirmed case are not just technical public health terms associated with Ebola. They guide outbreak response efforts by helping authorities determine who requires monitoring, testing, treatment, or isolation. It is also very important for the public to understand these terms to be able to contribute to public health interventions.