You Are SAFE From Ebola In The United States

We like to look at the facts here at the Tin Hat Ranch, we don’t like hype.  Recently, the first case of Ebola in the United States showed up in Dallas, immediately the web lit up with the “You are all going to die”, especially in the prepper community.  Let me tell you folks, rest assured, Ebola will probably not become a pandemic in the United States.  Here is why:

Ebola is a deadly disease, those who contract it have a very high percentage of dying, the key is contracting the disease. The fact of the matter is the culture of West Africa perpetuates the spread of the virus.  How do we know?  We run a charity called God Water that focuses on bringing clean water and the Gospel to Liberia, and have been in direct contact with CDC on the matter.  Our own Spot has been to Liberia many times.

Life in Liberia, and West Africa for that matter,  is very different than life in the United States.  For the average Liberian, all that is life is known by customs and what people tell you, mostly first hand.  Folks have limited “connections” via social media or news, in fact, 65% of Liberians are illiterate.  Being sick in Liberia is a way of life, the water most folks drink being a big cause.  To the average Liberian, the disease appears no different than any other diseases that are common (at first).  At home care of the sick is also a way of life.  If a family member gets ill, it is a family member that takes care of you.   You don’t go to a doctor or a hospital because you cannot afford to. There is also a general distrust government or aid workers, a holdover from the many civil wars and rampant corruption.  Ebola is spread via bodily fluids, if you are tending to a person with Ebola without any knowledge of what Ebola is or an understanding of how it spreads, you too get Ebola.  Sometimes you will find 8 to 10 individuals sleeping in a room that is smaller than the typical American bedroom.  Here in the western world, a person with Ebola immediately gets quarantined.  Special precautions, which you too can follow, are used to care for the sick individual.  Simple hygiene practices that are followed here in the United States are nearly non-existent in a country like Liberia, especially where home care is involved.

If a family member dies of Ebola in a West African nation like Liberia, the burial rituals exacerbate the spread of the disease.  It is a common practice and an honor to wash the dead before burial.  Since contact should be avoided with the corpse of person who has succumbed to Ebola, the disease spreads even further.  This is one of the leading methods for the disease to spread.  We simply do not partake in these rituals here in the United States.

Ebola can also be transmitted via other animals.  Chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, antelopes, porcupines, rodents, dogs, and pigs have all been found to transmit the disease.  Handling the meat of these animals can spread the disease.  This is something we, for the most part, don’t do here in the United States.  If the disease were found to be spreading in game animals, the average hunter with common sense would both know the disease would be spreading via news and probably curtail hunting activities.  Since the dissemination of news is virtually non-existent in Liberia, a person who survives off game has no idea they are spreading the disease.

These three methods of transmission are major factors in how the disease spreads.  If you’ve read the news you will note that immediately upon the diagnosis of Ebola in the Dallas patient, the CDC has immediately begun to track down all people that have been in contact with the individual.  These individuals will be quarantined to see if symptoms occur.  This obviously does not happen in West Africa.

Is it possible for this disease to spread in the United States?  Of course it is.  But know the following:

• Wash hands frequently or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid contact with blood and body fluids of any person, particularly someone who is sick.
• Do not handle items that may have come in contact with an infected person’s blood or body fluids.
• Do not touch the body of someone who has died from Ebola.
• Do not touch bats and nonhuman primates or their blood and fluids and do not touch or eat raw meat prepared from these animals.
• Avoid hospitals where Ebola patients are being treated. The U.S. Embassy or consulate is often able to provide advice on medical facilities.
• Seek medical care immediately if you develop fever (temperature of 101.5°F/ 38.6°C) and any of the other following symptoms: headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bruising or bleeding.

The simple dissemination of news can reduce the spread of a disease like Ebola.  If the disease were to become a pandemic, isolation and typical prepper practices will keep you and your family safe.  Remember, with any disaster, it is your ability to make prompt decisions that can save your life.  It is just not time to make that decision yet.