Ebola education event held Saturday in Durham
DURHAM (WTVD) -- The sound of traditional West African music filled the air outside Durham's St. Philip's Episcopal Church on East Main Street Saturday. Anyone driving past might have assumed it was a cultural festival. But the easy smiles and socializing among people who came here from Liberia and other West African nations helped health experts share important information about the Ebola virus.
"Because we don't want to get a stigma put on the African, the Liberian community over what is going on," said event organizer Esteria White.
White says she would like the opportunity to work with public health authorities in all "100 counties of North Carolina to be able to educate the public about Ebola."
On Saturday, she worked with Arlene Sena of the Durham County Department of Public Health, who told ABC11 the Ebola virus is "really only transmitted by direct contact with blood or body fluid of someone who's affected."
Reports and talk show chatter about the Wednesday death of a man in Texas sickened by Ebola concern many people in this country. That, in turn, leads to difficult days for people from Liberia.
"When they actually tell other community members that they're from Liberia, that there is a misconception that they or other family members could be at risk for Ebola," said White.
Printed takeaway fact sheets in three languages remind anyone who reads them: Ebola is not spread through the air, water or food.
"People who have no history of travel to those affected countries, nor any kind of contact with anyone suspected of Ebola should really not be concerned," Sena told ABC11.
