Clarity and Compassion

October 27, 2014

With increased concern about the spread of Ebola in the United States and questions about the public health response, Abdul El-Sayed and other Mailman School faculty are communicating the science behind Ebola transmission, clarifying issues like the quarantine implemented by New York and New Jersey, and helping to quell fears by presenting the facts as candidly as possible.

In an interview with WNBC-TV in New York City, El-Sayed, an assistant professor of Epidemiology, says the fear of Ebola is understandable, but underlined several important points. “Unless somebody feels the symptoms, there is no reason to believe he or she is infectious,” he said. While the epidemic rages in West Africa and important work remains to control the outbreak at its source, “it’s important to remember that it’s really, really, really unlikely to get Ebola in New York City” or anywhere else in the United States.

Click below to watch the segment:

Other Mailman School faculty who recently appeared in media stories about Ebola include the following:  

James Colgrove, associate professor of Sociomedical Sciences, on WNYC Radio

Wafaa El-Sadr, director of ICAP, on WNYC

Amy Fairchild, professor of Sociomedical Sciences, on MSNBC

Linda P. Fried, dean of of the Mailman School, in the Huffington Post

W. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity, in the New Yorker

Dana March, assistant professor of Epidemiology, in Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Stephen S. Morse, professor of Epidemiology, on MSNBC

Jeffrey Shaman, associate professor of Environmental Health Sciences, on NPR