College Hosts Forum to Foster Better Understanding of Ebola Virus

Students, faculty and staff members gathered for an Ebola information session October 28 on the Main Campus, which was designed to foster a better understanding of how the virus works and to share safety recommendations from leading health organizations.

Dr. Linda Powell, the Biology Department chair, and the Biology department assumed the leadership in putting together the panel which included Dr. Mary Ann Wagner-Graham, assistant professor of Biology; Dr. John-Paul Vermitsky, assistant professor of Biology; Lisa Johnson, assistant professor of Nursing, Tamika Curry, assistant professor of Nursing, and Petrina McFarlane, assistant professor of Nursing.

The mission, in Dr. Powell’s words, was to begin a conversation about “what Ebola is and what Ebola is not.” NBC 10 covered the session on the evening and nightly news, and touted the College’s forum, which put the current Ebola outbreak into context by providing a history of the virus and dispelling misconceptions.

Among the interesting facts shared:

• Ebola is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection of the Ebola virus. It is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of an infected person, contact with infected wildlife or instruments containing infectious bodily fluids.
• Health care providers caring for Ebola patients and the family and friends in close contact with these patients are at the highest risk of getting sick.
• Members of the College family are far more likely to catch the flu, which also can be deadly. NPR recently assembled a chart showing that the American public’s chances of dying from Ebola were 1 in 13.3 million, while the risk of dying from a lightning strike are 1 in 9.6 million and the risk of being killed by a shark is 1 in 3.7 million.
• There have been previous Ebola outbreaks. The 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history and is affecting multiple countries in West Africa.
• The City of Philadelphia has a plan in place to care for Ebola patients, should the need arise. The University of Pennsylvania Health System and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are the region’s designated care centers.
• The College’s Nursing program is incorporating lessons learned from the current outbreak into the curriculum to keep Nursing students abreast of changing safety protocols, tests of Ebola vaccines and more.
• Individuals can take the following precautions:
  • Wash hands frequently or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
  • Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, particularly someone who is sick.
  • Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids.
  • Do not touch the body of someone who has died from Ebola.