Coronavirus experts ask media to raise awareness, not fear

A panel of health experts said media reports of the current coronavirus outbreak in China have been solid and asked for further media assistance in communicating awareness without creating fear. They spoke at an event sponsored by the National Press Club Journalism Institute on Feb. 10.

Nancy Messonnier, a physician and spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said health authorities are on a “precipice. We want people to be aware…but don’t want them to be overly concerned as yet.”

When people want to know what to do, she said she tells them, “Just wait.”

Both Messonnier and Anne Marie Pettis, a registered nurse and president-elect of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, emphasized washing hands frequently, covering coughs and not going to work when sick.

“We’re not at the point of having to wear masks for this; I think it’s an important message,” Pettis said.

She said masks give a false sense of security and may be a disincentive to basic behaviors.

There are 12 cases of the current coronavirus, called novel coronavirus, in the United States, 10 of whom were people who had been in China and the other two had been in close contact with them, Messionnier said.

She credited the current low threat in the United States to screening travelers from China and to aggressive efforts in China to isolate Wuhan, the city in which the outbreak originated, including closing its airport. The potential of the virus spreading in the United States is “at least slowing down,” she said.

There are about 800 people in quarantine, most evacuated from Wuhan, she said. The first group are to be released Tuesday after 14 days of showing no symptoms, Messionnier said.  

The Chinese provided the genetic sequence of the virus so that the United States could develop a diagnostic tool quickly, she said. FDA has started shipping the tool to states and other countries, she said.

“Epidemics are a health issue, a political issue and a social issue,” said Amanda McClelland, a registered nurse and senior vice president of Resolve to Save Lives’ Prevent Epidemics team, recalling her experience with Ebola in west Africa. “The way we communicate affects where we are in the outbreak.”

Pettis agreed. “Fear is truly infectious," she said.

The symptoms of novel coronavirus are similar to other respiratory diseases: fever, cough and shortness of breath, Messonnier said.

The infection spreads mainly by person to person contact, although there is some evidence in some places of another pathway, she said.