Facts not Fear: Demystify Ebola and Enterovirus D68

Turn on the news and try NOT to feel a little bit anxious about current public health crises. The onslaught of stories about Ebola and Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), “a flulike disease that has infected 664 people—most of them children—in 45 states so far and the District of Columbia.” [1] These and other illnesses can be overwhelming…and cause great concern in your community. As rumors and misinformation generate fear, people need expert information to better understand the risks to themselves and their families.

“One of the challenges of combating an Ebola outbreak is the fact that the early symptoms of the infection are similar to those of the flu, malaria, typhoid fever, and several bacterial infections, which occur more often and are not as serious. By the time the true nature of the infection becomes known, many people in a community could have been infected.

The swiftness of the infection has been noted by some authors. Others feel, however, that the two-week course of the infection is not unusually quick. The latter view is true when a patient is near medical care in a developed country. However, in rural regions of Africa where Ebola is most common, medical care may be days in coming and even then may not be capable of dealing with a severe infection. In that situation, even a disease that develops within a week is swift and serious.

The rapid spread of Ebola is also aided by the location of most of the outbreaks. The areas in Africa where Ebola appears are poor, rural, and do not have medical facilities close by. The health care facilities that are available are not likely to have space available to isolate the patient from other patients, which can contribute to the spread of the infection.” [2]

You can help quell needless concerns AND help your community be informed about proven, effective prevention methods with up-to-date resources available to patrons 24/7 from anywhere.

Gale offers the following resources to help patrons become informed:

• GVRL – The content above is from GVRL, our award-winning eBook platform allows users to search across all eBooks at one time. So, patrons can find expert information from many validated reference sources in one sitting – either in the library or from the comfort of their own home.  And, for those who prefer to access from their mobile device, they can download information in PDF format directly to their eReader.  GVRL delivers titles on infectious diseases, public health issues, epidemiology of illnesses, and much more.
• Global Issues in Context – A wealth of resources explaining the historical and contemporary conditions necessary to understand global issues, conflicts, and events. Portals provided on current events in the Middle East and 300 other global issues.
• InfoTrac – Continually updated newspaper and periodical articles from top national and international publications, like Time. With InterLink technology, seamlessly cross-searches information on the PowerSearch platform — including news, magazines, and journals from InfoTrac and GVRL Employs Gale’s advanced subject indexing and results ranking algorithms to connect users to relevant information.
• Rosen Teen Health & Wellness–Focuses on support and self-help for teens and topical, in the news content. See its up-to-date Ebola content.

So, as you reach for your hand sanitizer for the umpteenth time today, think about bolstering your library’s health resources to provide substantial information to combat concerns and keep people in the know about the true risks of current health issues.

Contact your Gale Representative to request a free trial of these resources which can start today.

1. Kluger, Jeffrey. “Ebola Panic Goes Viral.” Time20 Oct. 2014. Nursing and Allied Health Collection. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

2. Hoyle, Brian. “Ebola.” Infectious Diseases: In Context. Ed. Brenda Wilmoth Lerner and K. Lee Lerner. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2008. 269-275. In Context Series. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.Trava Mista Cano Alto