For years our country has been plagued by diseases that cause "epidemics" and create a worrisome atmosphere for individuals in the country. Contrary to popular belief, the Ebola outbreaks that have been occurring in the U.S. have been minimal, but they have been categorized as extremely harmful, putting people into a state of panic. The reality of the situation is that this disease is not all that scary, nor should we as a people be so afraid of what it has in store for us. The United States is one of the world's most technologically advanced civilizations on the planet and is perfectly capable of handling a legitimate outbreak of Ebola or any other infectious diseases. But for some reason, officials are cracking down on air travel between infected countries like Africa and Sierra Leone so hard that traveling passengers are discouraged from visiting such locations. Now this is not to say that we should ignore the entire ordeal and keep going on with our lives, but the rate at which we're approaching Ebola is an overwhelming amount and should not be so heavy and restricting. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that we are taking measures too seriously in the U.S. and not enough in countries like Africa, according to the Associated Press. "The best way to protect us is to stop the epidemic in Africa, and we need those health care workers, so we do not want to put them in a position where it makes it very, very uncomfortable for them to even volunteer to go," he said.
The most recent quarantine of Kaci Hickox, the first nurse isolated in New Jersey under the state's new policy, said that "we have to be very careful about letting politicians make health decisions" in a phone interview with CNN. She also said her isolation is "inhumane" and violating her human rights. But Governor Chris Christie said otherwise, "This is government's job. If anything else, the government job is to protect safety and health of our citizens." Many agree with the governor Christie but humanitarian medical organizations have made the argument that separating nurses and quarantining them for weeks couple cripple the fight against the outbreak in West Africa.
"If we don't have our people volunteering to go over there, then you're going to have other countries that are not going to do it and then the epidemic will continue to roar," said Dr. Fauci in a statement. He said that policy should be driven by science, and science says that people with the virus are not contagious until symptoms appear. If the many people of the U.S remain in a state of panic, it's very unlikely that we're going to make any progress in actually reducing the disease across the world, let alone our own country. It's important to monitor people who may be infected with the disease, but to completely isolate them from friends and family for weeks on end to see if they have developed it is unnecessary.
The most important issue to tackle here is how to stop the disease from spreading in West Africa. Although that sounds crazy and critics would say that is not going to happen, it's our only chance of actually making a concrete fight against the disease. Yes, it is important to be cautious of others who could possibly contract Ebola, but our focus should be on stopping it where it starts. It is said by experts that nearly 10,000 new cases a week are being developed in West Africa. 10,000 a week. Let that sink in for a second. If thousands and thousands of new cases are reported, it's only bound to have the same lasting affect that HIV and AIDS have had through out the past 20 years or so. Speaking of AIDS, there have been 15,529 people who died due to the disease in 2010 and 636,000 cases in the U.S. alone, and we're freaking out over Ebola?
The fight against diseases is always going to be harsh, but looking at the big picture, our country has faced far worse biological devastations than Ebola in the past. There is no reason to panic over this "epidemic" that has only killed one person in the U.S. so far and infected under ten others. It's silly, really, to think that so much has been done to stop the spread across the U.S. but almost nothing has been done to reduce the spread in West Africa, where Ebola is actually coming from. The bottom line is to clear the air and realize that an epidemic is not happening in this country and it never was. Understanding the fundamental structure of how to reduce Ebola in West Africa will decrease the odds of it ever spreading to the U.S. But are we really focusing our energy in the right direction?
The most recent quarantine of Kaci Hickox, the first nurse isolated in New Jersey under the state's new policy, said that "we have to be very careful about letting politicians make health decisions" in a phone interview with CNN. She also said her isolation is "inhumane" and violating her human rights. But Governor Chris Christie said otherwise, "This is government's job. If anything else, the government job is to protect safety and health of our citizens." Many agree with the governor Christie but humanitarian medical organizations have made the argument that separating nurses and quarantining them for weeks couple cripple the fight against the outbreak in West Africa.
"If we don't have our people volunteering to go over there, then you're going to have other countries that are not going to do it and then the epidemic will continue to roar," said Dr. Fauci in a statement. He said that policy should be driven by science, and science says that people with the virus are not contagious until symptoms appear. If the many people of the U.S remain in a state of panic, it's very unlikely that we're going to make any progress in actually reducing the disease across the world, let alone our own country. It's important to monitor people who may be infected with the disease, but to completely isolate them from friends and family for weeks on end to see if they have developed it is unnecessary.
The most important issue to tackle here is how to stop the disease from spreading in West Africa. Although that sounds crazy and critics would say that is not going to happen, it's our only chance of actually making a concrete fight against the disease. Yes, it is important to be cautious of others who could possibly contract Ebola, but our focus should be on stopping it where it starts. It is said by experts that nearly 10,000 new cases a week are being developed in West Africa. 10,000 a week. Let that sink in for a second. If thousands and thousands of new cases are reported, it's only bound to have the same lasting affect that HIV and AIDS have had through out the past 20 years or so. Speaking of AIDS, there have been 15,529 people who died due to the disease in 2010 and 636,000 cases in the U.S. alone, and we're freaking out over Ebola?
The fight against diseases is always going to be harsh, but looking at the big picture, our country has faced far worse biological devastations than Ebola in the past. There is no reason to panic over this "epidemic" that has only killed one person in the U.S. so far and infected under ten others. It's silly, really, to think that so much has been done to stop the spread across the U.S. but almost nothing has been done to reduce the spread in West Africa, where Ebola is actually coming from. The bottom line is to clear the air and realize that an epidemic is not happening in this country and it never was. Understanding the fundamental structure of how to reduce Ebola in West Africa will decrease the odds of it ever spreading to the U.S. But are we really focusing our energy in the right direction?