It’s on the minds of many Americans and some are even in a panic, calling it one of the most important problems facing the country right now. Doctors, however, are urging calm.

A local doctor says the chance of actually catching Ebola is very small, and she saw a similar reaction years ago with the Bird Flu and SARS.

The symptoms are comparable: high fever, muscle aches and joint pain.

Dr. Katarzyna Ostrzenska with Bay Medical Center in St. Petersburg says that if you develop those symptoms, you should seek medical attention to rule out the most likely cause, which, she says, isn’t Ebola.

“It’s something you should probably at least get excluded: that you don’t have the common flu, which is probably more likely, anyway,” she said.

She says the flu takes tens of thousands of lives each year in the United States, but even with flu season underway, Ostrzenska says it’s likely she’ll see patients more worried about Ebola than influenza.  

“It’s panic, essentially," she said. "Because these are such virulent diseases, and they had a higher mortality rate. People are obviously more concerned about contracting them."

Ostrzenska says she’s seen this type of hype before when the Bird Flu made its way to the U.S., and when there were cases of SARS.

“If you are a healthy, middle-aged-to-younger person, the chances of you surviving such a disease is very good," she said. "It’s just something new, something unfamiliar, so anything that is unfamiliar to us is obviously a lot more concerning, and it’s a human response to be panic-stricken of things that are unknown to us."

In her office, there won’t be any special precautions because of Ebola, or the flu, but she says if you still feel the need to worry, there are diseases far more prevalent and more dangerous.

The Department of Health recommends that everyone six months and older get an annual flu shot.