Watch CBS News

Clinicians: 'Ebola Anxiety Syndrome' Causing Public To Worry

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -  The images saturate the airwaves: an overseas epidemic and the very visible effort to prevent a domestic outbreak, leading to what some clinicians call "Ebola anxiety syndrome" in many who don't even have Ebola, CBS 2's Lou Young reported.

Locally, patients with flu-like symptoms are beginning to report to emergency rooms fearing the worst.

Dr. Erik Larson helps run the ER at White Plains Hospital. He wants people to understand that Ebola is not an imminent threat to the vast majority of Americans.

"I think you're much more likely to get a cold or the regular flu on the street. This is highly unlikely; it's not highly transmissible until the patient is really profoundly sick," Dr. Larson said.

Everyday people, though, are worried by what we may not know.

"I don't know the people that have it, that kind of scared me right there," one White Plains resident said.

EXTRAS: Fact Sheet On Ebola Screenings | More From The CDC | Ebola Q & A With Dr. Jonathan LaPook 

"I work with the public. I'm afraid of who I come in contact with,"another woman said.

"It does give a little anxiety," one man told Young. "It's something we're all thinking about."

So hospitals run through their drills.  If it comes, they will deal with patients at their most infectious.

The experts say the rest of us should relax a little.

"The consistent information is that it requires a transfer of bodily fluids and that's making me more comfortable," one man said.

"You want to have faith in our government that we're going to be able to control it," another passerby said.

Emergency rooms are more likely to see a patient with Ebola anxiety than the actual disease.

If it begins to happen, many doctors are worried the distractions could affect regular emergency medical care.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.