US fears threat of emerging diseases
According to a new national public opinion survey commissioned by Research!America and the American Society for Microbiology, 95 per cent of Americans think infectious and emerging diseases facing other countries will pose a 'major' or 'minor' threat to the US in the next few years.
Over half of those surveyed (61 per cent) said that they are confident the federal government can prevent a major infectious disease outbreak, 89 per cent said the government should fund international programmes on the surveillance and detection of infectious disease outbreaks, and 70 per cent said the government should do more to educate the public about global disease outbreaks and the risk to the US.
"The findings indicate that many Americans are unaware of the cutting-edge research and public health strategies to protect citizens against deadly epidemics like Ebola," said Mary Woolley, President and CEO, Research!America. "With the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is essential for all stakeholders, from government to industry, to educate the public about efforts to prevent and contain threats to the health, safety and economic security of Americans and individuals worldwide."
Regarding vaccination, 71 per cent of respondents said that it is ‘very important’ to have their children vaccinated, compared to 82 per cent in 2008. Over half of respondents (53 per cent) said that they didn’t get the flu vaccine during the last flu season and 45 per cent said the public doesn’t receive enough information from doctors about vaccinations.