Great information from Lindsey, our new Young Living Global Educator

"Over the past few days I have gotten many messages and comments about the Ebola virus. Ebola is in a class of known as filoviruses, includes the Marburg and Ebola viruses, and causes severe internal bleeding, fever and death. Transmission is through direct contact with bodily fluids such as blood or diarrhea. There is no current drug therapy to treat Ebola, and the virus is not preventable by vaccine. There are currently two patients who have been flown back to the United States after contracting the virus in West Africa, and both have received an experimental Ebola antiserum intended to halt the spread of the virus.

There are several things you can do to reduce your risk of Ebola. First and foremost, avoid anyone with confirmed Ebola. In West Africa cultural norm is for families to grieve the loss of a loved one by laying and weeping over the body, and this has quickened the spread of the virus. If you must be in contact with someone with Ebola wear sufficient protective equipment (including gloves, gowns, mask, closed toe shoes, eye splash protection, etc), and wash your hands regularly, especially if you have touched, fed, or cared for anyone infected with Ebola.

I have researched the use of essential oils for Ebola. Though essential oils are well known to have antiviral properties, my searches revealed no articles specifically about Ebola. There is a wealth of evidence that suggests that essential oils high in citral, beta-carophylline, and carvacrol may be effective against many viruses. These oils include oregano, thyme, Melissa, cinnamon, clove, lemon and orange oils. There is also evidence that members of the lamiaceae family (peppermint, Melissa, sage, and rosemary) are potent antiviral agents.

Thieves is a blend of clove, lemon, cinnamon, Eucalyptus radiate, and rosemary, and is the basis of Young Living’s Thieves Cleaner and Foaming Hand Soap. It contains many oils demonstrated to have antiviral activity in laboratory studies. Along with avoiding other people with Ebola, Thieves Oil diffused with or without Peppermint Oil throughout the day, regular hand washing with Thieves Hand Soap, and disinfecting of household surfaces with Thieves Cleaner may prevent you and your loved ones from contracting viruses."

Thieves essential oil is one of the 11 oils that come in your Premium Starter kit.

Here is Lindsey's research:

Search Strategy: PubMed and MeSH search terms: Ebola; essential oils, Marburg; oils, volatile; filovirus; lamiaceae; antiviral. Natural Standard database contained no articles about Ebola or Marburg.

Kubiça TF1, Alves SH1, Weiblen R2, Lovato LT1. In vitro inhibition of the bovine viral diarrhoea virus by the essential oil of Ocimum basilicum (basil) and monoterpenes. Braz J Microbiol. 2014 Apr 11;45(1):209-14. doi: 10.1590/S1517-83822014005000030. eCollection 2014.

Gilling DH1, Kitajima M, Torrey JR, Bright KR. Antiviral efficacy and mechanisms of action of oregano essential oil and its primary component carvacrol against murine norovirus. Appl Microbiol. 2014 May;116(5):1149-63. doi: 10.1111/jam.12453. Epub 2014 Feb 12.

Dunkić V1, Vuko E, Bezić N, Kremer D, Ruščić M. Composition and antiviral activity of the essential oils of Eryngium alpinum and E. amethystinum. Chem Biodivers. 2013 Oct;10(10):1894-902. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.201300061.

Zielińska S, Matkowski A. Phytochemistry and bioactivity of aromatic and medicinal plants from the genus Agastache (Lamiaceae). Phytochem Rev. 2014;13:391-416. Epub 2014 Apr 3.

Li X1, Duan S, Chu C, Xu J, Zeng G, Lam AK, Zhou J, Yin Y, Fang D, Reynolds MJ, Gu H, Jiang L. Melaleuca alternifolia concentrate inhibits in vitro entry of influenza virus into host cells. Molecules. 2013 Aug 9;18(8):9550-66. doi: 10.3390/molecules18089550.

Gómez LA1, Stashenko E, Ocazionez RE Comparative study on in vitro activities of citral, limonene and essential oils from Lippia citriodora and L. alba on yellow fever virus. Nat Prod Commun. 2013 Feb;8(2):249-52.

Elaissi A1, Rouis Z, Salem NA, Mabrouk S, ben Salem Y, Salah KB, Aouni M, Farhat F, Chemli R, Harzallah-Skhiri F, Khouja ML. Chemical composition of 8 eucalyptus species' essential oils and the evaluation of their antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2012 Jun 28;12:81. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-12-81.

Astani A1, Reichling J, Schnitzler P. Melissa officinalis extract inhibits attachment of herpes simplex virus in vitro. Chemotherapy. 2012;58(1):70-7. doi: 10.1159/000335590. Epub 2012 Feb 23.

Pilau MR1, Alves SH, Weiblen R, Arenhart S, Cueto AP, Lovato LT.
Antiviral activity of the Lippia graveolens (Mexican oregano) essential oil and its main compound carvacrol against human and animal viruses. Braz J Microbiol. 2011 Oct;42(4):1616-24. doi: 10.1590/S1517-838220110004000049. Epub 2011 Dec 1.

Oh C1, Price J, Brindley MA, Widrlechner MP, Qu L, McCoy JA, Murphy P, Hauck C, Maury W.

Inhibition of HIV-1 infection by aqueous extracts of Prunella vulgaris L. Virol J. 2011 Apr 23;8:188. doi: 10.1186/1743-422X-8-188.

Geuenich S, Goffinet C, Venzke S, Nolkemper S, Baumann I, Plinkert P, Reichling J, Keppler OT.Aqueous extracts from peppermint, sage and lemon balm leaves display potent anti-HIV-1 activity by increasing the virion density. Retrovirology. 2008 Mar 20;5:27. doi: 10.1186/1742-4690-5-27.

Nolkemper S1, Reichling J, Stintzing FC, Carle R, Schnitzler P. Antiviral effect of aqueous extracts from species of the Lamiaceae family against Herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 in vitro. Planta Med. 2006 Dec;72(15):1378-82. Epub 2006 Nov 7.

Schuhmacher A1, Reichling J, Schnitzler P.Virucidal effect of peppermint oil on the enveloped viruses herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 in vitro. Phytomedicine. 2003;10(6-7):504-10.