An Ebola diagnosis is not a death sentence. The disease can be treated indirectly with basic interventions; alleviation of the symptoms with painkillers, antibiotics, and a modified diet. It is also vital that patients drink a lot of water, tea and soup. Alcohol should be avoided. Ebola patients are treated in isolation wards. It is obviously unsettling to see doctors and nurses in head-to-toe protective "moon suits", but hospital staff must take all possible precautions to protect themselves, and that means covering every centimeter of their bodies. Conditions in Ebola isolation wards have improved significantly in West Africa in recent months. Approximately 50 percent of patients now survive Ebola.

In some cases, patients are treated with serum made from the blood or purified antibodies of recovered Ebola patients. This form of treatment is limited in quantity and not widely available. Testing for further forms of treatment and medication is ongoing.