On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control confirmed a person who took a commercial flight from Liberia to Dallas had been diagnosed with the Ebola virus. This is the first documented Ebola case within US borders. The next day it was reported the patient may have exposed five young children to the virus.
The constant reports about this case may play into our tendency to worry about things outside our control. That worry can quickly become panic, and panicking — according to one medical ethicist — is going too far.
"I don't think it's a reason to panic," Art Caplan said on Boston Public Radio, "but it's a reason for concern."
"You don't have to panic because the disease is very tough to transmit — very, very tough to transmit. It really takes bodily fluid contact. Part of the story not reported from Ebola in Africa is, a main source of transmission is handling dead bodies. People wrap them up, people wash them, people kiss them, people touch them a lot, and that's how they get infected," Caplan said.
"I think the people who are at risk here are healthcare workers who wear the equipment and get near the people" with Ebola, Caplan said. "But that's a situation that we know how to handle because we've had tuberculosis before. (...) Isolation is something hospitals understand and know how to do."
The director of the CDC, Dr. Thomas Frieden, held a press conference Tuesday to address the US Ebola threat. Dr. Frieden offered specifics on how a person with Ebola was able to walk freely in the US, even after the patient went to a doctor after feeling unwell, and was sent home.
Caplan wasn't impressed with the way the CDC presented the case to the public. "It bothered me that what they were saying was, 'We're on top of this guys, don't panic.' What I want them to say is, 'We're gonna give you all the information that we've got, we're going to earn your trust,'" Caplan said. "Be more transparent."
Caplan said the prognosis for patients in the US is much better than for those in poorer countries.
"If you get in the hospital here, three things happen. We can give you fluids, so if you're throwing up a lot and you have terrible diarrhea, we can replace the fluids," Caplan said. "Secondly, (...) we have better bleeding-management medicines than they do in Africa. And lastly, (...) you find yourself eating better and just getting better sustenance," as well.
The Ebola virus continues to ravage Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa, where medicine and adequate facilities to deal with the virus remain in short supply. By comparison, the threat here in the United States is comparatively small. Caplan's advice was to keep the threat in perspective.
>> To hear the entire interview with Art Caplan, click the audio above.
