I'm currently walking along the river away in Boston's Fenway neighborhood.
And although we've already had our first frost a couple weeks ago,
we were still in EEE season.
I'm on my way to meet up with John Connor, a neurologist
at Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories.
I'm excited to talk to John about why is it that we're so fascinated and
afraid about a disease like EEE when flu season is knocking on our
door right now and we know that many thousands of people will be impacted.
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So John thanks so much for coming out today.
We're here at the Time-out market in Boston's Fenway neighborhood,
great gathering place for a lot of folks.
That makes me wonder, as a virologist, are there any pet peeves,
you see where you just really shake your head and think, you know,
that is a transmission of a viral load waiting to happen?
>> So I will say generally,
I think that folks around the city are pretty responsible.
It's not that people are just spreading disease willy nilly.
But yes I will say that the times when you walk into the tea and someone is obviously
sick and sneezing I will probably try to stay away from that person.
>> What do you think about this whole triple e scare that we've been dealing
with all summer all fall It feels like the news media has been dominated by talk
about triple e is that fear founded in In reality.
>> [LAUGH] So I would say that there's
a tremendous amount of concern that's beyond the actual risk.
My daughter runs cross country and
there were people debating whether they should run because of a potential risk
I have to say I personally see it as a very low risk.
It doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
But the overall potential to become infected, it appears to be pretty small.
There are things that you can do but
I think it does capture people's imagination, and
the fact that you don't really know what to do If I were to contrast flu and
EEE there really isn't something that people have decided on as a working
cure in our in our society and understood as ways that can provide protection.
>> So we're about to be entering flu season right here in Boston.
In fact, you're starting have already >> Already
>> Already in it.
And I have to ask, why do we experience flu season now, like clockwork.
>> So flu season is essentially brought to us by the regular
movement of the virus out of often Asia where these strains initiate,
and they're brought across by various migratory patterns or
even travel patterns >> Birds are migratory.
They could bring H5N1 from an originating site in Asia.
It can also be transmitted by people.
Right, people get on planes all the time.
And flu is an excellent example of a virus that is pretty transmissible.
It's something where people can exchange it.
And once you get a few initial cases in the United States.
Unfortunately we as people, are really good actors, right?
We will be able to transmit it to different people and spread it.
They would be really nice if we have had perfect vaccine protection, so that if
their was one initial case everybody around of this would be protected.
But I think we're not there yet and that means we serves our own transmitters.
>> We've talk about several different viruses, we've talk about EEE.
What's the number one that we sould be really worried about and
thinking about here in Boston?
>> Given this season.
I would say that is really the thing to be worried about.
things you can do to mitigate risk are things that I think people
already know how to do.
Right?
Wash your hands, get the flu vaccine.
They're highly effective.
>> And what should we say to family and
friends that may not want to get the flu vaccine.
>> I would ask them to do it if not for themselves.
>> For you.
The concern is not necessarily that they will have a bad reaction to the flu,
but that they will transmit it to someone else who will have a bad
reaction.
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