Fire Chief: No Need to Panic About Ebola

October 23, 2014 by

Although it is highly unlikely that the area will ever see the dreaded Ebola virus, safety and emergency forces in Geauga County are well prepared to deal with it, Auburn Township Fire Chief John Phillips said Monday.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that it won’t come here, but we’re prepared if it does,” Phillips told Auburn Township Trustees.

Referring to re-ports an Ebola-infected healthcare worker traveled in the Cleveland area recently, Phillips said, “It’s close to home and it makes you think, but in the same token, we don’t want to panic either.”

Ebola, a deadly virus believed to have originated from contact with an infected animal in West Africa, has become an epidemic in the West African nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

It causes hemorrhagic bleeding and is often fatal. This summer, two American healthcare workers infected with the disease were successfully treated in the United States.

More recently, a man traveling from Liberia to the United States was infected with the disease and died Oct. 8 while being treated in a hospital in Texas.

Since then, two healthcare workers who treated the man have tested positive for the disease. One of the workers traveled to Cleveland and came down with the disease when she returned to Texas. She had been showing early symptoms when she was in the area, but had been cleared to fly.

Those who came in contact with the woman in the Cleveland/Akron area are being closely monitored for 21 days, and a bridal shop she visited was closed and is being sanitized.

In our area, officials closed schools in Solon and Chagrin Falls because school personnel had come in contact with the woman during the flights, according to news reports.

Phillips said he has taken part in daily briefings from the state health department, and conference calls with Gov. John Kasich’s office, as well as regular updates from the federal Center for Disease Control.

“The CDC has been very good about letting local emergency services know what to expect and how to deal with it,” Phillips said. “(UH?Geauga Medical Center) had a meeting tonight to update caregivers and responders. The state’s been very aggressive in dealing with it as well as the county and local officials.”

The chief said a spinal meningitis scare of several years ago made local communities aware of the need to be prepared for medical emergencies and to develop plans to react to them.

“That’s why we’re prepared to deal with something like this,” Phillips told trustees.

According to a flyer distributed by the Ohio Department of Health, the 2014 Ebola epidemic is the largest in history, but does not pose an imminent risk to Ohio residents.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the Ohio Department of Health is working with local health departments, hospitals, EMS responders, physicians, other healthcare professionals and state agencies to be prepared,” the flyer reads.

The flyer states that the deadly disease, which originated in West Africa, is spread through direct contact with blood or bodily fluids of an infected person, or through contact with needles or other objects that have been contaminated with the fluids.

“Ebola is not spread through the air, water or food, but can remain in contaminated clothing, bedding, towels, etc.,” the flyer reads.

However, Phillips said he believes that bodily fluids could be transmitted through the air if an affected person sneezes.

According to a recent publication on Ebola released by the CDC, symptoms of the disease include: a fever of about 101.5 degrees; severe headache; muscle pain; vomiting; diarrhea; stomach pain; and unexplained bleeding or bruising. The symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure, but the average is eight to 10 days.

Phillips said the county health department has received several calls from people concerned about their flu-like symptoms.

“Just because you have the flu doesn’t mean it’s Ebola,” Phillips said. “There are no active cases in Ohio.”

Phillips said unless a person has been out of the country recently or on a foreign flight, has been in close contact with a person who has Ebola or has a temperature over 101.5, there is no reason to suspect they have the disease.

“Although we need to heighten our awareness, there’s no need to panic,” Phillips said. “We just all need to be prepared.