LAST YEAR, U.S. hospitals saw their first cases of Ebola. The disease, which has no cure and kills 50 percent of those infected, has many Americans on edge. And ifyour upcoming travel plans include stops in West Africa, you should
be. However, for the average Marin resident, the chance of
contracting Ebola is negligible.
What’s more, says Greenbrae-based infectious disease
specialist Gregg Tolliver, the best way to keep Ebola at bay
is by supporting Ebola relief organizations abroad. (Read:
open your pocketbooks.) “We can lower our risk of getting it
here,” he says, “by helping doctors contain it to West African
countries already hard hit.” Partners In Health ( pih.org) and
Doctors Without Borders ( doctorswithoutborders.org) are
two he personally recommends.
In the meantime, for the average American, the risk of
dying of flu complications is exponentially higher than the
risk of contracting Ebola, Tolliver says. In 2009, for example,
when flu vaccines were in short supply, the H1N1 strain of flu
killed more than 12,000 people in the United States. And flu
death estimates tend to be extremely conservative: “The flu
causes inflammation and blood clotting issues that can lead
to heart attacks and stroke. Deaths that occur as a result are
not included in the official numbers,” Tolliver says. “That’s
why getting flu shots is so important.”
In case the worst does happen and Ebola surfaces in
our corner of the world, local health providers are being
educated on how to react.
“We have been prepping for a while by reworking proce-
dures and setting up proper screening processes,” Tolliver
says. “I think hospitals saw what happened in Dallas [where
the first known Ebola patient in this country died] and are
now more prepared to react.”
Tolliver is
quick to point
out that for the
average
American, the
risk of dying of
flu complications
is exponentially
higher than the
risk of
contracting
Ebola.
Is Ebola a Threat?
One Marin expert says the best defense against the disease might be
supporting doctors on the front lines. BY DAWN MARGOLIS DENBERG
