Why Metro Health Officials Are Going Door-To-Door, Warning People About Zika

As Middle Tennessee is addressing its first cases of Zika virus, public health officials are springing into action to stop the disease from spreading — although what they can do is somewhat limited.

After a case is confirmed, Metro Health first sends out a press release to get the news out to as many people as possible. And then, staffers start knocking on doors.

Last Friday, Andrea Marsh was 
one of the public health employees to canvas several blocks in East Nashville, around 
14th
 and Fatherland. She knocked on doors and handed out fliers with mosquito prevention tips.
 

“We just wanted to let you know there’s been a
Zika
case in the area,” she said to residents who answered the door. 
“Is anyone in your household experiencing fever, rash, joint pain?”

At one house, Matt Poag says everyone there is feeling fine. His wife is pregnant, which is concerning because Zika can cause birth defects. But they already take precautions like wearing bug spray, so this visit from Metro Health isn’t going to change much.

Still, he appreciates the notice and ”
the concern to come and at least make people aware of it,” he says.

At another house, the resident at the door says, actually, she’s the person in the neighborhood with the confirmed case of Zika. She doesn’t want to be interviewed or identified, but health officials say she contracted the disease while traveling to Honduras. 
They’re encouraging her and at least one other person in Davidson County with Zika
 to do whatever they can to avoid being bitten by a mosquito.
 

No mosquitos in Nashville have been found carrying the disease yet, but that’s the biggest risk: If one did
 bite someone with Zika
, it could infect other people within a small radius. Metro Health believes canvassing door-to-door is the most effective way to get people in the area to take the risk seriously.

But even with home visits, making people aware is a challenge. During the East Nashville canvassing before a long weekend, only one out of every five or six houses had someone home. 

Metro health officials say they try to take timing into consideration, but the priority is notifying residents as soon as possible after a case is confirmed — even if that means simply leaving a flier in the mailbox.