Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health

Introduction: Emerging infectious diseases often create concern and fear among the public. Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and Enterovirus (EV-68) are uncommon viral illnesses compared to influenza. The objective of this study is to determine risk for these viral diseases and then determine how public perception of influenza severity and risk of infection relate to more publicized but less common emerging infectious diseases such as EVD and EV-68 among a sample of adults seeking care an American emergency department.

Methods: Included were consenting adults who sought care in two different urban emergency departments in Seattle, WA in November, 2014. Excluded were those who were not fluent in English, in police custody, had decreased level of consciousness, a psychiatric emergency, or required active resuscitation. Patients were approached to participate in an anonymous survey performed on a tablet computer. Information sought included demographics, medical comorbidities, risk factors for EVD and EV-68, and perceptions of disease likelihood, severity and worry for developing EVD, EV-68 or influenza along with subjective estimates of the number of people who have died of each virus over the year in the US.

Results: A total of 262 (88.5% participation rate) patients participated in the survey. Overall, participants identified that they were more likely to get influenza compared to EVD (p<0.001) or EV-68 (p<0.001), but endorsed worry and concern about getting both EVD and EV-68 despite having little or no risk for these viral diseases. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of participants had at-least one risk factor for an influenza-related complication. Most participants (64%) believed they could get influenza in the next 12 months. Only 52% had received a seasonal influenza vaccine.