Release Date: Jan. 29, 2020
GAMBIER, Ohio — Worried about catching the illness known as the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)? Curious as to how public health authorities manage the spread of disease? Wondering what a virus even is, how a new one emerges and how a coronavirus compares to something like influenza?
A free informational session hosted by the Kenyon College Department of Biology and featuring both scientists and public health experts will answer these questions and more. The session will be held Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 11:10 a.m. in Higley Hall Auditorium, 202 N. College Road.
Professor of Biology Joan Slonczewski, whose microbiology students have studied the coronavirus outbreak in class, will provide scientific background on the virus. Chris Smith, the director of Kenyon’s Cox Health and Counseling Center and a former public health advisor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), will present a public health perspective. Officials from the Knox County Health Department and Knox Community Hospital have also been invited to attend.
“Everyone wonders what’s going on with this new virus and how it might affect us in Ohio,” Slonczewski said. “Here’s where people can get some answers.”
Although several cases of the coronavirus have been identified in the United States, and the virus is considered a serious public health concern, the immediate health risk from 2019-nCoV to the general American public is considered low at this time.
For more information, contact the Department of Biology at 740-427-5383.