Don't Panic This Winter

By Tareq Abedin, MD

Ashburn Sterling Internal Medicine & Pediatrics

. http://www.myhealthcare.org/

More Family/Primary Care Articles

Don't Panic This Winter

Ebola

Ebola is a tropical disease that appears like horrible stomach flu with a lot of bleeding. Affected patients will have fevers, bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea. It is a dangerous infection; however, it is also very hard to spread. It is spread by taking care of very sick family members who have the disease or when family members wash the bodies of the deceased. It cannot be spread with casual contact or by a cough. Actions like cleaning the vomit, diarrhea, or blood of an affected person without the protection of gloves, gowns, and masks is what gives you the highest chances of contracting the virus.

Nigeria has already effectively eradicated the disease from its borders. The other African nations will likely be able to control the epidemic now that world governments are providing the infrastructure necessary to halt the disease. They basically need education (change in funeral rites during the epidemic), hydration, and contact isolation facilities and supplies.

Enterovirus D68

There is also a lot of concern about Enterovirus D68. It is basically a cold virus that has already spread to all 50 states and has taken the lives of a few children. It will, for most folks, be nothing more than a simple cold. In a small handful of patients it causes severe respiratory symptoms. Children with a history of asthma may be at increased risk of getting this more aggressive form.

However, although the virus has already spread to all of the contiguous states, only seven kids have died with this disease. In contrast, several thousand folks die with the flu each year. In neither the Enterovirus nor Flu statistics, is the CDC stating that the patient died of the virus. All the CDC can say for sure is that when the patient died, evidence of the virus was found in the blood stream.

The bottom line is that if you are not worried enough to get a flu vaccine, don't worry about the Enterovirus, as it's far less likely to cause your family anything more than a cold.