Facts, Not Fear
Misguided quarantine policies have the potential to cause more damage than the Ebola virus itself.
Keep calm and use common sense.
Ebola has many symptoms and side effects, but fear doesn’t have to be one of them. Unfortunately, new state policies on quarantine for health care workers returning from West Africa are creating unnecessary controversy and unease instead of the reassurance Americans need most.
According to the World Health Organization, Ebola is transmitted by “direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.” The virus is not airborne, and therefore not easily spread through casual contact. You can’t contract the disease by simply being around someone who has it, and it cannot be transmitted by people who do not have symptoms. The virus spread in West Africa in part because of burial practices and a lack of resources to manage the outbreak. In the United States, it seems unlikely that Ebola would be able to spread to the same degree.
However, the actions of some state officials would lead one to believe that we need to prepare ourselves for a dangerous pandemic. New York and New Jersey have both implemented mandatory 21-day quarantines for health care professionals returning from volunteer work with Ebola patients in West Africa. In the state of Maine, returning nursing volunteer Kaci Hickox recently battled with state officials over their insistence that she remain quarantined, even though she is not exhibiting Ebola symptoms. The state monitored her movements and even had a police car tail her on a recent bike ride. In Louisiana, attendees of an upcoming infectious diseases conference were told not to come if they’ve recently been exposed to Ebola patients.
These measures are unnecessary and an overreaction to the presence of Ebola in the United States. They also have the potential to create further harm by contributing to the culture of fear that has pervaded the country since the first Ebola patient came in. There is already widespread concern about the possible spread of the disease. Enacting policies that are not in line with what we know about Ebola or how it is spread reinforces misinformation and contributes to the anxiety of the general population. Policies that promote unnecessary quarantines also have the potential to discourage volunteers from going to West Africa to help battle the disease over there. As countless officials have said during the past couple of weeks, the best way to fight Ebola in the U.S. is to fight it in West Africa. A lack of volunteers would hamper those efforts. As Forbes points out, the average person has more to fear from the flu than Ebola. The flu is far more infectious and kills thousands of people every year. And yet, those who come down with the flu aren’t quarantined – they’re not even required to stay home from work. The state quarantine policies are an overreach and not in the best interests of public health.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama said when speaking about the Ebola crisis, “We don’t just react based on our fears. We react based on facts and judgment and making smart decisions.” He is absolutely right and those are the guidelines that national and state officials should be following when determining a response. Undoubtedly, protection of the population is everyone’s top priority, but while Ebola is a new health risk for most Americans, it’s not necessarily one of the deadliest ones, and policies for returning health care workers should be consistent with the risk they pose. Misguided quarantine policies have the potential to cause more damage than the Ebola virus itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment