Ebola Question and Answer

Learn more about ebola with our qustion and answer page.

IDPH Activates 24-Hour Ebola Hotline

The hotline number is 800-889-3931.

Managed by staff from the Illinois Poison Center, hotline operators are able to provide timely information on Ebola and the state’s response.  Residents can call any time with questions such as how Ebola is spread, who is at risk of being infected, when should someone go to a doctor, what hospitals and local health departments are doing to identify and control possible Ebola infections and other frequently asked questions.

Find out more about Ebola:

CDC Ebola Announcement

World Health Organization

Acute Neurologic Illness with Focal Limb Weakness of Unknown Etiology in Children

Summary: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working closely with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Children’s Hospital Colorado to investigate a cluster of nine pediatric patients hospitalized with acute neurologic illness of undetermined etiology. The illness is characterized by focal limb weakness and abnormalities of the spinal cord gray matter on MRI.

The purpose of this HAN Advisory is to provide awareness of this neurologic syndrome under investigation with the aim of determining if children with similar clinical and radiographic findings are being cared for in other geographic areas. Guidance about reporting cases to state and local health departments and CDC is provided. Please disseminate this information to infectious disease specialists, intensive care physicians, pediatricians, neurologists, radiologists/neuroradiologists, infection preventionists, and primary care providers, as well as to emergency departments and microbiology laboratories.

Read the full announcement.

Respiratory Illness Due to Enterovirus D68

What is the current situation?

This year, an uncommon form of enterovirus called EV-D68 has been found circulating in Missouri and Illinois. This is a rapidly evolving situation and additional states also may report circulation of this virus. Testing of specimens from individuals diagnosed with enterovirus infection were sent to a specialized laboratory at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 11 specimens from a Chicago hospital were positive for Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68). To date, there have been no reported deaths due to EV-68 in Illinois.

Other locations within Illinois have reported increased cases of respiratory illness in children and have diagnosed enterovirus infections, but specific testing for EV-68 has not been performed. Testing for the EV-68 strain is not readily available from hospital and clinical laboratories.

Learn more about the Enterovirus-D68 virus.

Questions and Answers on Ebola

Updated: August 28, 2014
The 2014 Ebola outbreak is the largest Ebola outbreak in history and the first in West Africa. The current outbreak is affecting four countries in West Africa: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone but does not pose a significant risk to the United States. A small number of cases in Nigeria have been associated with a man from Liberia who traveled to Lagos and died from Ebola, but the virus does not appear to have been widely spread.

CDC is working with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization, and other domestic and international partners and has activated its Emergency Operations Center to help coordinate technical assistance and control activities with partners. CDC has also deployed teams of public health experts to West Africa and continues to send public health experts to the affected countries.

Download this CDC pdf with more questions & answers.

West Nile Virus Prevention

“As we enter the hot temperature season, we will start to see more mosquitoes test positive for West Nile virus in the Central Illinois region,” said Wil Hayes of Peoria City/County Health Department.

“The best way to prevent West Nile disease or any other mosquito-borne illness is to reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home and to take personal precautions to avoid mosquito bites. Precautions include practicing the three “R’s” – reduce, repel and report."

• REDUCE exposure - Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn. Make sure doors and windows have tight-fitting screens. Repair or replace screens that have tears or other openings. Try to keep doors and windows shut, especially at night. Eliminate all sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including water in bird baths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires and any other receptacles.        
• REPEL mosquitoes - When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR 3535, according to label instructions. Consult a physician before using repellents on infants.
• REPORT mosquito breeding grounds - In communities where there are organized mosquito control programs, contact your municipal government to report areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes.

West Nile virus is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird. Common West Nile virus symptoms include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches.

Symptoms may last from a few days to a few weeks. However, four out of five people infected with West Nile virus will not show any symptoms. In rare cases, severe illness including meningitis or encephalitis, or even death, can occur. People older than 50 are at higher risk for severe illness from West Nile Virus.

Avoiding Tickborne Disease

Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, tularemia, ehrlichiosis...read more

After The Flood

This information is provided by the Illinois Department of Health to help flood victims protect themselves against diseases and other hazards in the days and weeks following a flood. View E-Book by Download PDF

See More Mosquitoes and Floodwater Info

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