For New York City firefighters saying "Ebola" on the radio is just as bad as saying "bomb" on an airplane.
"At no point shall a dispatcher transmit over the radio any message containing the word 'Ebola' or related terminology," reads a FDNY memo.
Dispatchers are instructed to use the code F/T, meaning Fever/Travel when communicating over the radio, according to New York Post reports.
Members of the media and some civilian hobbists listen in on radio channels, so the code was created to minimize fear in the city.
"Just like you can't say bomb on an airplane, we can't say 'Ebola,' " an unnamed source from the fire department tells NY Post. "Back in the '80s and '90s, taking universal precautions meant someone has AIDS. And we weren't allowed to say AIDS either."
The city receivied about 133 calls about possible Ebola symptoms, Dr. Jay K. Varma, deputy commissioner of FDNY tells NY Post. All of the calls were false alarms.
A recent Reuters survey found that 41 percent of Americans are "very concerned" about the Ebola outbreak.
