However, if a person has the early symptoms of Ebola and has had contact with the blood or body fluids of a person sick with Ebola; contact with objects that have been contaminated with the blood or body fluids of a person sick with Ebola; or contact with infected animals, they should be isolated and public health professionals notified. Samples from the patient can then be collected and tested to confirm infection.
Ebola virus is detected in blood only after onset of symptoms, most notably fever, which accompany the rise in circulating virus within the patient's body. It may take up to three days after symptoms start for the virus to reach detectable levels. Laboratory tests used in diagnosis includ