SEO: UMD Ebola forum answers questions

Professionals subdue rising fear of Ebola

Forum crowded with students learn about Ebola crisis
Oct. 28, in the McKeldin Library Special Events room, professionals of a
forum attempted to settle the fears of Ebola. Over 100 UMD community members
packed the special events room, ranging from students to faculty. Concerned
students seemed eager to learn if Ebola is a concern to the university and how to
stay protected from the disease.
Gretchen De Silva, undergraduate academic
advisor for the UMD School of Public Health,
concentrated on explaining what Ebola is to the
community:
Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention website, a hemorrhagic viral fever means that

Gretchen De Silva, right,

explained what Ebola is to the
UMD community.
Photo by David Ottalini.
Philip Merrill College of
Journalism

the disease is usually accompanied by bleeding. Only about 50 percent of infected

patients die from the disease. There are three different ways that the virus passes
through the community:

Contact with an infected dead animal

Direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals
Contaminated object such as medicinal needles

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Jessica Zahurak ebola p.2

Ebola on campus
Dr. David McBride, director of University Health Center and chair of the
university Campus Infectious Disease Planning Group, informed the community
about the local impact of Ebola. McBride calmed the community by stating that
there is minimal risk on the campus
in

relation to Ebola.
This is a virus that is spread
Dr. David McBride, center, eases the
fear of Ebola stating that there is
minimal risk at UMD.
Photo by David Ottalini.
Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Fear has overridden

our rationality.
- Dr. David McBride

primarily through close contact with

an infected person, McBride said,
Fear has overridden our

rationality. It is much more likely to

contract influenza than Ebola by riding the
metro.
Chris Harvey from the College of

Journalism asked the panel, What if someone walked in sick with Ebola, do you
have the hazmat suits that are being seen? This question exemplifies the fear that
students feel on campus.
McBride said campus is trying to make the hazmat suits available. The
Health Center is screening people by asking if anyone has traveled to places that
might have exposed him or her to the disease to prevent an outbreak on campus.

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What can you do?

Madeline Moore, a community health major at the university, asked,
How can we help the current Ebola victims? McBride responded by stating that
money is more valuable than physical presence because there is no cure. Students
can donate to organizations, like Doctors Without Borders.
De Silva wrapped up the forum with a quip about staying healthy with
Ebola lurking in the United States. It is not only important to stay informed, but a
good start would be visiting the Health Center to get a flu shot.

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SEO: Ebola forum at UMD exposes media

Media cause Ebola panic on campus

At a forum on Oct. 28, a panel of professionals spoke about the fear of
Ebola that has been rising on campus. Linda Aldoory spoke about communicating
the risk to the public and how the media can cause panic in the public. Aldoory,
Director of Horowitz Center for Health Literacy and the UMD School of Public
Health, focused on the media coverage of Ebola and public reaction.
Journalists are really
doing their jobs, Aldoory said.
Journalists meet dozens of
deadlines a day and have to
compete with bloggers. Aldoory
explained why media reports

Linda Aldoory, right, talks about

communicating the risk of Ebola.
Photo by David Ottalini.
Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

certain information.
News values are needed for a journalist to publish an article. Impact and
conflict need to exist in the article; but, the article also needs to be novel and
local. These news values explain the overload of media coverage on Ebola now
that it has come to the United States.

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Jessica Zahurak ebola media p.2

Knowing how to interpret information from the media is important.

Aldoory suggest the reader look for three key criteria to understand how the news
affects them:

Am I susceptible?
How severe is this?
What can I do to protect myself from getting it?

To steer clear of panic, it is important to understand where the information is

coming from, why it is being published and what information to focus on. The
media are highlighting the extreme cases and we are dealing with it with fear,
Aldoory said.

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SEO: UMD hosts Ebola: behind the fear forum

UMD to host Ebola forum to ease fears

A panel of professionals will be easing the fears of Ebola on campus

Thursday, Oct. 28. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., a forum called Ebola: Behind the Fear
will be taking place. The forum will be in the McKeldin Library Special Events
Room 6137.
The speakers on behalf of the university will be: Gretchen De Silva, Linda
Aldoory, Susan Dwyer and Dr. David McBride. For more information, please visit
https://sph.umd.edu/event/ebola-behind-fear-campus-forum.

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