Tulsa's Liberian Community, Physician Voice Concerns About Ebola

The local Liberian community is voicing their concerns about the Ebola virus. Sunday dozens of people from West Africa got together to discuss the problem here and overseas.

The meeting was put together in order to alleviate some concerns and provide education about the disease in order for those in the Liberian community to be more proactive than reactive.

It's a disease hitting close to home for Liberians in Tulsa. Ebola is not only a concern for their hard hit home country, but now it's a concern here in the United States.

"Texas is just right next door to Oklahoma, and Dallas precisely is right next to Tulsa, so it's something that Tulsa needs to be prepared, very much prepared,” said Ralph Taylor, Liberian Community Member.

Representatives with the Tulsa County Health Department say they are prepared; claiming the risk to the area is minimal, something local doctor Chad Edwards agrees with.

"I think that the Ebola virus is something to be concerned about, I don't think that the average person in the U.S. needs to be worried or fearful about, but it is a serious virus, it is something that needs to be taken seriously, but I don't in any way think that people should panic, run out and buy bio safety level four suits or anything to that effect," he said.

Dr. Edwards has been in the medical field for more than 20 years, starting out as a medic in the military serving overseas in Iraq and most recently practicing emergency medicine in South America.

Centers For Disease Control

His advice is to know the warning signs, know how you can get infected and not to panic.

"So if you're not at risk and you haven't come into contact with anyone with Ebola, you don't have Ebola, we don't make it up out of nowhere," said Edwards.

These are the kinds of facts leaders with the local Liberian community hoped would come across in Sunday's discussion.

"We've tried to inform our people about Ebola, how to prevent, how to protect themselves from getting the disease and how to protect themselves and the community at large,” said Liberian Community Leader John Kaykay.

They're protecting themselves and the community by taking a proactive approach; arming themselves with the facts and encouraging them to be cautious with anyone traveling to and from West Africa.

World Health Organization

"So I think it is very important that Liberians in Tulsa have some level of understanding of what the epidemic is like," said Taylor.

People at the meeting also expressed their concerns for traveling family members and friends, talking about asking them to quarantine themselves before coming to visit.

There were also talks about what happened with the man who died in Dallas, Thomas Duncan, wondering who else he may have come into contact with.

It was a candid and active discussion about the disease in West Africa and also about the two cases here in the U.S.

The main take away though was to know the symptoms, get help early and remember that you can only get it from bodily fluids, coming into direct contact with things like cuts or tissues like in your nose and mouth.