Ebola virus unlikely to mutate: Chinese specialist

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-08-14

China CDC staff with Chinese health experts during a training session
in Beijing before departing for West Africa, Aug. 10. (File photo/Xinhua)

A senior Chinese disease expert has called for caution regarding the Ebola outbreak but says there is no cause for panic, saying the virus is stable and does not mutate as easily as HIV and the flu.

Ebola, which kills up to 90% of the people it infects, spreads through mucus and other body fluids or secretions such as the stool, urine, saliva and semen of infected people. The virus has claimed nearly 1,000 lives in West Africa, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The virus is sensitive to heat and is killed by exposure to at least 60 degrees Celsius for one hour, or boiling for five minutes, said Dong Xiaoping, researcher with the virus department under the Chinese Center for Disease Control, on Tuesday.

Dong added that many disinfectants, such as chlorine and ultraviolet radiation, are also capable of killing the virus.

According to the center, China has reported no Ebola infections so far but is strengthening border checks and preventive measures.

China has sent disease control experts as well as medical supplies to affected regions.