On Oct. 17, President George Hanbury emailed to the NSU community regarding the deadly Ebola virus to reassure faculty, staff and students that the school is closely monitoring the situation.
A doctor in New York named Craig Spencer was diagnosed with the disease on Oct. 23 after a trip to West African countries where he treated Ebola patients. The a viral disease that originated in central Africa made its way to the U.S. via Thomas Eric Duncan, who traveled from West African to Dallas, Texas, and later died. Amber Vinson and Nina Pham, two nurses who treated Duncan, contracted the virus but are now Ebola free.
Joseph S. De Gaetano, professor of family medicine at the College of Osteopathic Medicine, said that the potential for an epidemic in the U.S. is slim to none.
“Our public health capabilities are exceptional,” De Gaetano said. “Thankfully, we have tremendous resources that really help to prevent a dramatic spread of disease.”
De Gaetano said it’s important for people to realize that while Ebola remains a serious and significant health concern globally, the reality for the U.S. is that influenza, or the flu, is still far more deadly and concerning than Ebola ever will be.
“While this is getting tremendous headlines, there will probably be 23,000 people in our country who will die this year from influenza,” De Gaetano said. “Getting your flu shot should be more worrisome for folks than worrying about Ebola.”
Although potent and deadly, Ebola is not as contagious as it seems. One can only contract it if they are directly exposed to the bodily fluids of an infected individual who is showing symptoms. In his email, Hanbury stressed the importance of hand washing, a simple practice that can significantly reduce the risk of coming down with any contagious viral disease, whether it is Ebola or the flu.
James Howell, project director of the Institute for Disaster and Emergency Preparedness, part of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, said NSU is prepared if necessary. The Broward health department director recently visited the institute to speak to COM’s faculty council. The university has a response team and a disaster preparedness plan for emergencies.
President Obama is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce the threat to the U.S. Obama plans to utilize military personnel to combat the virus in Africa and stop it at its source. Numerous medical facilities in the U.S. have implemented CDC standard training programs in which staff are trained in hazmat procedure so that they are equipped to handle any potential cases of the disease.
De Gaetano said that NSU’s medical school will begin training medical students to work through hazmat protocol. COM is affiliated with 90 residency programs, and the residents in those programs are also learning about hazmat protocol.
“The training programs that are affiliated with NSU and COM are taking this crisis very seriously and addressing all that is necessary to make sure that our affiliated trainees are all being appropriately protected and provided appropriate education so that they’re ready to respond if there are any issues,” De Gaetano said.
De Gaetano believes the CDC and National Institutes of Health are handling the situation very well.
“This may be a controlled situation, but we have to be prepared for disasters at all times,” Howell said.
Howell also said the outbreak has been a lesson for everyone and that there’s been a tremendous educational component.
“I think one of the things that students could do is to look at the live updates on the websites in Hanbury’s email,” he said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for students to really check in periodically with the World Health Organization, with CDC and the other sites and follow along because this is a small world now.”
