UNH Infectious Disease Expert Says: Seasonal Flu, Traffic Accidents Threaten Americans More than Ebola

Seasonal flu and traffic accidents pose a greater threat to Americans than Ebola, she says.

"Thousands of people die from the flu each year," she said. "Yet people aren’t running out to get flu vaccines. One person in the United States has died from Ebola, and he flew into the country from Liberia. We can’t minimize what is happening in West Africa. That should be a concern to all of us. The outbreak has to be contained there. But the likelihood of people in the United States coming in contact with someone with Ebola is very, very low."

In an email to the campus community last Thursday, President Steve Kaplan said that  no member of the UNH community is studying, working or conducting research in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the countries for which the Centers for Disease Control has issue non-essential travel warnings due to Ebola outbreaks.

Eldridge, who has a Ph.D. in microbiology, said it is vital that people arm themselves with facts about how Ebola is transmitted. Ebola is a virus that can cause extensive bleeding, leading to a drop in blood pressure, shock and organ failure, she said. Other symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting – and it is when other people come in direct contact with those fluids that they could become infected. People cannot contract Ebola by shaking hands with someone who has been exposed to the virus but who does not have symptoms.

Eldridge noted that just two of the 76 health care workers who provided care to Thomas Eric Duncan, the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States, have come down with the disease, and so far those living in the house where he stayed have not come down with Ebola.

"It can be extremely frightening to people because it is exotic and because in developing countries it has an extremely high mortality rate, up to 90 percent," Eldridge said. "But the mortality rate is much lower here because we have a remarkable health care system with supportive treatments immediately put in place."

Patients are treated with fluids, electrolytes and blood transfusions, she said.

Eldridge said the situation in Dallas revealed problems with infection prevention in U.S. hospitals. "Hospital administrations around the country have to do everything they can to train and protect nurses and health care workers," she said. She questioned why all of the health care workers who cared for Duncan were not isolated, which could have prevented the second nurse from traveling by commercial jet to Cleveland and back.

Preventing the spread of viral infections is something everyone can practice, Eldridge said. She offered these ideas: 

• Wash hands with soap and hot water. The friction of rubbing your hands together for at least 20 seconds is important.
• Use hand sanitizers only if soap and water aren’t readily available. "Soap is always better," she said. "You are taking the microbes and washing them away from you and down the drain."
• During flu season, limit touching the eyes, nose and face. When sick, stay home and away from other people.
• Read and be informed about Ebola on sites such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/
• Find ways to get engaged and help with the fight against Ebola in West Africa.

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