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The Ebola virus can live on surfaces in infirmary for almost two weeks , a new study suggests .

Researchers tested how long the Ebola virus could hold out on plastic , stainless brand and Tyvek , a material used inEbola suits . The researchers also sham different environmental condition , including a mood - controlled hospital at 70 point Fahrenheit ( 21 degrees Celsius ) and 40 percentage humidity , and the typical environs of West Africa , at 80 F ( 27 C ) and 80 percent humidity .

Ebola Virus Image

A scanning electron micrograph of the Ebola virus.

In general , the computer virus outlive on surface for a longer meter when in the climate - check conditions than in the West African environment , the subject area establish . Under infirmary - like conditions , the virus lived for 11 solar day on Tyvek , eight days on charge plate and four days on stainless blade . The long the virus was capable to survive in the tropical conditions of the West African surround was three twenty-four hours , on Tyvek .

" generate the unprecedented [ number ] of wellness care professionals who became infect with Ebola virus during the irruption , we are prove to crystalise all potential routes of infection and potential drop for persistence of the virus , " said study researcher Vincent Munster , honcho of the Virus Ecology Unit at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ' Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton , Montana .

" We see that [ the Ebola virus ] can persist on surface " in hospitals , so it ’s very important that proletarian keep up protocols for good disinfecting and removing protective geartrain when leaving an Ebola treatment social unit , the researchers wrote in their study . [ Where Did Ebola arrive From ? ]

a photo of a syringe pointing at the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a map

The higher rut and humidness of the tropic conditions may be harmful to the virus , but the researchers still need to test whether it is the temperature , the humidity or a combining of the two that is make the computer virus to degrade more promptly , Munster say .

The cogitation also found that theEbola computer virus could survivein water for up to six days . The potential for the virus to be go around through wastewater remain unknown , but the newfangled finding " imprimatur further investigation into the pertinacity of the virus in sedimentary surround , such as in effluent or sewage canals , " the researchers said .

Finally , the study found that the computer virus could hold up in dry blood for up to five 24-hour interval , and in smooth parentage ( outside the body ) for as longsighted as 14 Clarence Day .

Pseudomonas aeruginosa as seen underneath a microscope.

The study evince that , in a roue sample from an Ebola patient , " the computer virus would stay workable for a long sentence , Munster tell . " Appropriate measures should be taken to safely dispose of these samples , " he add .

The researchers take note that their experimentation condition were sterile , but in " real world " options , contaminants , such as chemicals and bacteria , on surfaces could act upon how long the Ebola computer virus hold up .

The study will be published in the July takings of the diary Emerging Infectious disease .

A NASA satellite image of Africa with the Democratic Republic of Congo marked with its flag.

A woman holds her baby as they receive an MMR vaccine

Researcher examining cultures in a petri dish, low angle view.

A microscope image of Schistosoma haematobium

ebola virus

Microscopic view of Ebola virus

ebola virus particles

The Ebola virus

image shows dr. kent brantly

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a person holds a GLP-1 injector

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an MRI scan of a brain

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Radiation Detection Manager Jeff Carey, with Southern California Edison, takes a radiation reading at the dry storage area during a tour of the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station south of San Clemente, CA