Recent Ebola and Hantavirus Outbreaks Prompt Public Concern After COVID-19

Global health emergencies have returned to headlines with recent outbreaks of hantavirus on a cruise ship and Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The internet has responded with increased search activity for the word "pandemic" on Google Trends and discussions on social media platforms.

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many Americans to a global health emergency. That experience is shaping reactions to the current outbreaks, according to infectious disease experts.

Fear around certain diseases has existed before, but the memory of COVID-19 has heightened concern for some people. Chandra Harvey, a content creator on Instagram, said her joking video about another possible pandemic received over 100,000 views. "We're all dealing with PTSD from COVID," Harvey told NPR.

She added that COVID-19 heavily impacted her family, with several relatives hospitalized. Dr. Ali S. Khan, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said early in the COVID-19 pandemic people worried about friends and neighbors dying.

More than 1 million Americans died of COVID-19.

Experts say Ebola and hantavirus spread differently from COVID-19. Ebola typically spreads through bodily fluids such as vomit or blood. Hantavirus most often spreads through contact with urine, feces or saliva from infected rodents. Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the nuances of different pathogens get lost when people focus on the possibility of another disruptive event like COVID-19.

Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor at Brown University, told NPR the Trump administration's firing of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization are affecting the current Ebola response.

In a statement to NPR on Monday, the State Department said it was false to claim that USAID reform has negatively impacted the ability to respond to Ebola. The department added that funding and support to combat Ebola would continue. Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins, said she is concerned about the Ebola outbreak as a professional but not worried as a parent expecting the disease to reach the United States.

Pandemics and epidemics have occurred throughout history. In the 20th century, flu pandemics occurred in 1918, 1957 and 1968. Ebola has had multiple outbreaks in recent decades, with the 2014 outbreak killing more than 11,000 people. Experts recommend focusing on questions about how a disease spreads and personal risk rather than immediate dread.

Adalja advised being wary of information on social media that does not come from official sources.