Contextualizing Coronavirus: Experts to Weigh In At Panel

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Coronavirus

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A panel of experts from the fields of medicine, public health, Chinese history and the history of medicine at the University of Arkansas will be together for a joint discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 4, about the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China and how it could affect the United States.

What: Contextualizing Coronavirus - Expert Panel Discussion

When: Tuesday, Feb. 4 - 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Where: 026 Gearhart Hall - U of A campus

Speakers:

• Lyn Edington, R.N.C. – director of nursing, Pat Walker Health Center
• Kelly Hammond, Ph.D. – assistant professor of history, historian of China
• Huda Sharaf, M.D. – internal medical physician, medical director of Pat Walker Health
• Trish Starks, Ph.D. – professor of history, historian of medicine

As of this week, more than 6,000 people have contracted the coronavirus and more than 130 have died worldwide from the disease. The coronavirus is an upper respiratory infection similar to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome). As the case numbers continue to rise, the affected area has expanded.

Chinese officials have taken strong measures to contain the outbreak including quarantining nearly 50 million people, closing schools, canceling holiday celebrations, and shutting down transport.

The number of cases has continued to rise and experts are concerned that quarantine will not contain the "increasingly virulent" virus. Five million people have fled the city of Wuhan — epicenter of the virus. The United States currently has five confirmed cases.

Some questions that will be discussed include:

• What causes coronavirus and how dangerous is it?
• What is going on in Wuhan, China?
• How does the Chinese response compare to previous public health efforts and global pandemics?

The event is sponsored by the Arkansas Humanities Center of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3% of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.