UF scholars will come together at Pugh Hall to address Ebola virus concerns today.
The panel discussion on the virus will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Ocora Room.
The event, “The West African Ebola Epidemic: A UF Faculty Discussion & Research Poster Session,” will feature a panel of UF faculty who will discuss the disease and its sociocultural effects.
UF professor Leonardo A. Villalón, dean of the International Center, will moderate the panel.
“The point is to sort of tap into our expertise here at UF about an issue that is a very key and current concern,” Villalón said.
The panel will include Dr. Paul Psychas from the UF Community Health and Family Medicine and Emerging Pathogens Institute and Sharon Abramowitz, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Center for African Studies.
Abramowitz said the crisis is not as detrimental as the media have led people to believe.
“We have a very robust health system and strong containment measures whenever they are activated,” Abramowitz said. “It would appear that the public health system is working very actively to prepare itself.”
The panel aims to address growing health concerns among Americans and within the campus community.
The event will be followed by a research poster session presented by undergraduate students in the UF Ebola virus research group.
Sponsors for the event include the Health in Africa Working Group at UF’s Center for African Studies, the UF International Center Global Health Council and the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.
“I think the best strategy is to throw as many American resources as possible into containing it at the site where it’s most prevalent right now, and if we address the problem at its source, we won’t have to worry about issues of a broader pandemic,” Abramowitz said.
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 10/8/2014]
