Can Ebola virus infect via the skin?

I received this question about Ebola virus infection via email:

Can you become infected if infected droplet lands on your skin even if there is no abrasion on the skin? I am now hearing this, which surprises me. The virus can enter through the actual skin and does not need mucus membrane to enter?

The skin of most animals is an effective barrier against viral infections. The outer layer of human skin, called the stratum corneum, consists of a layer of dead, keratinized cells (illustrated). Viruses cannot replicate in, or be transported across, dead cells. Therefore any virus that lands on the skin cannot simply replicate in the outer layer or be transported to the underlying living cells.

However, viruses can pass through the dead layer of the skin through cuts or abrasions. Many activities, such as shaving, or even scratching, lead to microabrasions. It is relatively easy to breach the dead layer of cells with a fingernail, and such abrasions cannot be seen.

A patient in the late stages of Ebola virus infection (such as the Dallas patient) is shedding high amounts of virus particles in body fluids. If virus-laden droplets land on the skin, the virus can readily enter via cuts or abrasions. Even if the skin is intact, the droplets could be inadvertently transferred to mucous membranes of the eye, nose, or mouth, initiating infection. For this reason it is important that the skin be entirely covered when caring for Ebola virus infected patients.