Subscribe I am already a subscriber

You are using software which is blocking our advertisements (adblocker).

As we provide the news for free, we are relying on revenues from our banners. So please disable your adblocker and reload the page to continue using this site.
Thanks!

Click here for a guide on disabling your adblocker.

Subscribe I am already a subscriber

Import from Africa can't carry Ebola virus

A number of people in Germany wondered whether they could be infected with Ebola through fruit from Africa. The 'Deutsche Fruchthandelsverband e.V.' (DFHV) turned to the Bernhard-Nocht-institute for tropical healing (BNITM) for the answer in August. The BNITM is the collaborative centre of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the national reference centre for this disease. The answer was clear: the import of fresh fruits and vegetables from Africa is safe and cannot transmit the Ebola virus.

It is suspected Ebola viruses have been present in Africa in wild animals for thousands of years. It is only rarely transmitted to people, mainly through infected monkeys and it is believed by flying foxes. But it is difficult to transmit the virus from human to human, unlike a cold or flu, and more like HIV - through direct contact with an infected person or infectious bodily fluids.