Ebola Response Kits Sent to 50 States

For the first known time in US history, the deadly Ebola virus landed on American soil, housed inside of infected doctor Kent Brantly. By now, you’ve probably seen the story about the doctor contracting the disease in Liberia while he was treating sick patients. A second American, nurse and missionary Nancy Writebol is scheduled to return to the country tomorrow. Both of the infected patients are set to receive care and observation at the Emory University Hospital, just a twenty minute drive from the headquarters for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, in Africa, the deadly outbreak is spreading rapidly into neighbor countries like Sierra Leone and Guinea. Nigeria is also reporting at least one case of Ebola and the death toll has quickly ascended over the 800 mark.

So do American’s want the risk of Ebola spreading here stateside? That’s one of the questions asked in a recent Rasmussen poll. After the two sick patients arrived, now almost 60 percent of Americans are personally concerned about the threat of Ebola rearing it’s head in the US. The numbers are a bit down from years past when 65 percent were concerned about swine flu and 73 percent feared the West Nile virus.

It appears like the public reaction is somewhat sedated to the risk, perhaps a case of ‘the boy who cried wolf’ after the Swine Flu and West Nile virus in 2009 and 2012. The Swine Flu killed over 12 thousand Americans, the more recently, West Nile Virus killed just over 500.

But by all accounts, Ebola is more deadly and more immediately impactful than its two viral predecessors.

Scientists and researchers are scrambling to create a vaccine, but more Americans are also concerned about vaccinations than they have been in recent years.

So how concerned should Americans be about Ebola? If you take your signals from the Department of Defense, they took action four months ago.

According to a report published by the Committee on Armed Services back in April, disease detection kits were sent out to national guard posts in all 50 states. The report doesn’t name Ebola specifically, but it does mention coordinated efforts with the CDC to prevent threats like Anthrax and Botulism, calling them weapons of mass destruction. The report also indicated that these medical countermeasures are “designed to protect and treat military personnel.”

If Ebola does break out here in the states, the national guard is ready.