By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Given the twin threats of enterovirus-D68 and Ebola, the Lawrence Township Health Department is monitoring the situation closely and keeping in contact with federal, state and county health officials.
That was the message delivered to Township Council Tuesday night by Lawrence Township Health Officer Carol Chamberlain.
There have been 20 confirmed cases of EV-D68 reported in New Jersey, including one death — but no cases involving Ebola, Ms. Chamberlain said. There have been several confirmed Ebola cases, and one death. No cases have been reported in New Jersey.
Children are most susceptible to EV-D68 because they have not built up immunity to it, Ms. Chamberlain said. Adults who contract it often do not show symptoms or have a mild case. There is no vaccine to prevent it, but good "hand hygiene" — frequent washing of hands, plus cleaning and disinfecting surfaces such as doorknobs, computer keyboards and toys — can help reduce the risk of contracting it.
"I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to wash your hands. Hand sanitizer is okay, but it is not enough," Ms. Chamberlain said. It is vital not to share water bottles or utensils, and to stay home when a child or adult is sick.
Ebola is new to the United States, she said. As with EV-D68, there is no vaccine and no medication to cure it. It is not as easily spread as EV-D68. It is contracted by coming into contact with bodily fluids from persons who are suffering from Ebola.
Information on the two illnesses is constantly developing, and federal, state, county and municipal health departments share information as it comes in, Ms. Chamberlain said. There are periodic conference calls among the health agencies, and the Lawrence Township Health Department receives daily updates from the New Jersey Department of Health.
The Mercer County Health Department and Mercer County Central Communications, which dispatches first responders, have set up a "triage process" to screen callers to help determine whether a respiratory illness might be Ebola or simply the flu, Ms. Chamberlain said.
The dispatchers ask whether the caller has traveled to West Africa. If the caller has not traveled to one of the affected countries in western Africa, most likely Ebola can be excluded, she said. The respiratory illness is caused by something else.
The Lawrence Township Health Department is in constant contact with the schools, including Rider University, she said. Health officials asked Rider University officials about their international students, for example, and determined that the sole international student did not come from an area affected by Ebola.
In the public schools and the pre-schools in the township, the emphasis is on teaching children to wash their hands, Ms. Chamberlain said. The school district has worked out cleaning procedures for the buildings. The school buses also are cleaned daily.
Finally, Ms. Chamberlain recommended that everyone should receive a flu vaccination. It helps with one’s general immunity. Thus far, the Lawrence Township Health Department has administered 180 flu vaccinations at its flu clinics, and two more clinics are scheduled for Oct. 23 and Nov. 12.
Thanking Ms. Chamberlain for her report, Mayor Cathleen Lewis said, You have been pro-active before this became news and since it has become news."

