Analyzing Annals: Ebola - Fear and Practicing Medicine
This series of Annals of Internal Medicine essays, all released over the past few weeks, highlights the intense attention being paid to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and fears of its arrival in the U.S.
- Serotherapy for Ebola: Back to the Future
- Ebola, Ethics, and Public Health: What's Next?
- Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in 2014: The Tale of an Evolving Epidemic
- Ebola Vaccination: If Not Now, When?
- Ebola Fever: Reconciling Planning With Risk in U.S. Hospitals
- Protecting Health Care Workers From Ebola: Personal Protective Equipment Is Critical but Is Not Enough
Use these Annals essays to consider the following:
- What are the manifestations of Ebola infection, and how is a diagnosis made? What is the differential diagnosis? You may find this information at ACP Smart Medicine: Ebola and Marburg Viruses.
- Do you know what exactly to do if you encounter a patient in whom Ebola infection is a consideration? In what order should you do these things?
- Do you believe you should be asked to care for such patients? What risks may you be asked to take by your medical center in order to care for patients? What risks do we all take on a regular basis in the care of our patients?
- Is all this attention to Ebola appropriate? Does it help or hurt? Does it draw attention away from other public health issues about which we can do more?