Despite the current media focus on Ebola, a top Clark County health official says Clark County residents should not be overly concerned about the deadly virus.
“I do not want people to be worried,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, public health director and Clark County health officer. “There is not a significant risk to people in Clark County. I don’t want people to lose sleep over this.”
Despite that, Melnick said Health Department personnel are remaining vigilant.
“This is a good time to check all our processes and whether it is Ebola or influenza, it’s a good time to take a look at our procedures,” he said. “We are working with hospitals and EMS and are in touch with all our partners on this. We feel we have the infrastructure to protect the public.”
It’s not easy to get Ebola because people must have direct contact with someone who has symptoms, Melnick said, adding there should be no hesitancy about traveling via airplane
A second Texas nurse who has tested positive for Ebola was identified Oct. 15 as Amber Vinson, 29, part of the team at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who took care of Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who died of Ebola on Oct. 8. She is the second member of the hospital staff to contract the virus and a Dallas official warned that additional cases among the hospital’s health care workers is a “very real possibility,” according to a website posting by ABC News.
President Obama had planned to visit New Jersey and Connecticut on Oct. 15, but canceled the trip to hold a cabinet meeting at the White House to coordinate a response to the Ebola outbreak, the website said.
However, Melnick believes people here should be much more concerned about the risk from whooping cough (pertussis) or influenza – especially since the latter kills thousands of U.S. citizens each year.
“Influenza season is starting and everybody over the age of 6 months should be getting their influenza vaccine,” he said. “Whooping cough is a greater risk, too. People should be getting their pertussis vaccinations. Pertussis is something to be concerned about.”
However, he emphasized that Clark County Public Health and its partners are prepared to respond to what he called “the highly unlikely chance” that Ebola reaches Washington state.
