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Marcia Goldoft
Communicable Disease
Epidemiology Section
Epidemiologist
on front line in battle against disease
Marcia Goldoft is a
physician, but she doesn’t focus on treating patients after they
fall ill.
 |
| Proper hand-washing is a
simple, effective way to fight contagious disease, but
epidemiologist Marcia Goldoft says it’s essential to do
it regularly. |
Instead, she aims to prevent disease and keep people from getting
sick.
As
a medical epidemiologist with the Department of Health’s
Communicable
Disease Epidemiology Section, Marcia works to identify and stop
the illnesses that afflict Washington residents.
Her job keeps changing as new public health dangers emerge.
“Keeping up to date is a positive challenge,” she says
She’s vigilant about new threats. At one time, hantavirus, West Nile
virus and MRSA were rare or all but unheard of in Washington, but
have become less so.
“Nothing goes away,” Marcia says. “The diseases just keep adding
on.”
Diseases spread in new ways, she says. Meanwhile, because of medical
advances, many people think infectious disease shouldn’t affect
them.
Although epidemiology is complex, people can take simple steps to
ward off some forms of disease – such as washing hands frequently
and thoroughly.
But there’s a catch, Marcia warns.
“A lot of the prevention does seem low-cost and basic, and yet it
has to be done every single time,” she says.
That means if you handle raw chicken or change a baby’s diaper, wash
your hands repeatedly.
When problems do occur, quick work can reduce harmful effects.
Marcia remembers the rapid, successful response to a 1993 E. coli
outbreak linked to fast-food hamburgers.
“It was skill and luck that brought it together,” she recalls. “The
local health (agencies) pulled together the information and the
outbreak was stopped in its tracks.”
Even before a public announcement was made, an epidemiological study
pointed to the source and the company pulled the product off the
market.
Marcia especially enjoys working with local health partners.
“They’re really on the front lines,” she says. “It’s been an honor
to work with them.”
Interacting with local public health isn’t always about solving
problems, she says. More often, it’s about building relationships,
trust, and information.
“We talk with local health offices every single day,” says Marcia,
who also works closely with the agency’s Public Health Laboratories
and handles state-level issues.
It’s all part of her goal: to prevent disease before it can do its
damage.
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