‘Everybody touching Ebola should be outfitted with our highly anti-viral fabric from head to toe,’ asserts Argaman Technologies co-founder.

 A sample shirt developed by Argaman for the Japanese police and for racecar drivers. It controls core body temperature to reduce heart stress; can deliver active ingredients to sterilize a wound and promote healing; has “weltings” to keep a bulletproof vest off the body to allow air circulation; and is fire retardant.

Join attorney Clifford A. Rieders as he interviews with Jeff Gabbay, Israel businessman working on antimicrobial fabrics and his international leading approach to prevention of hospital infections.

Ebola Virus Disease

Key Facts:

• Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
• The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.
• The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks.
• The first EVD outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests, but the most recent outbreak in west Africa has involved major urban as well as rural areas.
• Community engagement is key to successfully controlling outbreaks. Good outbreak control relies on applying a package of interventions, namely case management, surveillance and contact tracing, a good laboratory service, safe burials and social mobilisation.
• Early supportive care with rehydration, symptomatic treatment improves survival. There is as yet no licensed treatment proven to neutralise the virus but a range of blood, immunological and drug therapies are under development.
• There are currently no licensed Ebola vaccines but 2 potential candidates are undergoing evaluation.

Updated September 2014:

Fact sheet N°103

World Health Organization