Dora Mills among supporters of opinion piece in ‘Portland Press Herald’ on epidemic of fear surrounding Ebola
Dora Anne Mills, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., vice president for Clinical Affairs, was listed among supporters of an opinion piece published by the Portland Press Herald on October 31, 2014.
The piece, "Maine Voices: To fight epidemic of fear, we must be guided by science, not emotion," discusses the belief held by a group of Maine health professionals that quarantining all health care workers who return from Africa impairs efforts to stop Ebola at its source.
The piece argues that health care workers who have selflessly volunteered to care for Ebola patients in West Africa "should not also have to face stigma and anger," noting that "reports from aid organizations indicate that unnecessary quarantines and stigma are already negatively impacting the number of volunteer applicants to assist with the outbreak in parts of West Africa."
Thus, the fear surrounding Ebola, argues the body of professionals, is a detrimental factor in controlling its spread, as thousands of volunteer health care workers are needed in West Africa, and "unnecessary quarantines impede these efforts."