Dr. Fred Campbell, General and Hospital Medicine, said it’s important for people to know the facts about the virus and what’s happening to avoid being unnecessarily fearful.
Dr. Campbell discussed the difference between a bacterium and a virus and mentioned that influenza is an example of a viral infection.
He explained that viruses are contagious and it’s important not only to avoid contact with sick individuals but to make sure to wash your hand and disinfect surfaces.
He added that the public’s focus on coronavirus will perhaps reduce the risk of transmission of other more serious kinds of infections.
Dr. Campbell said that COVID-19 appears to be more aggressive than other types of coronaviruses, which are frequently cold-type syndromes.
A few people are getting seriously ill and deaths have been related to the coronavirus, but comparatively speaking influenza kill tens of thousands of Americans every year, Dr. Campbell concluded.
Watch the interview.