Outbreak Update: Ebola In America

Ebola has officially hit the US and many people are wondering if they should be concerned. The Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization say its not time to sound the alarm off just yet. Ebola fortunately is not spread through the air, but instead spread through bodily fluids. Making it much more difficult to catch than the average
cold.

last week Thomas Duncan, a Liberian citizen, flew into Dallas, Texas to visit family members. Less than a week from his arrival Duncan fell ill and walked into a local hospital to seek treatment. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital did numerous tests, but did not screen for ebola. Duncan was released only to be sent back to the hospital by an ambulance. The family that Duncan was visiting with at the time he became sick, are currently under quarantine in their Dallas apartment.

World Health Organization representative Dr.Christopher Dye recently wrote “… the number of cases of deaths from Ebola virus disease are expected to increase from hundreds to thousands per week in the coming months.” The WHO blames hospitals in Africa with poor infection control and no access to things that are considered necessities, like running water here in the US. Many people in the hot zones are catching the disease due to caring for others who already have Ebola. Any contact with vomit, blood, and other bodily fluids cause caregivers to be first in
line for the Ebola virus.

While thousands of people in Africa die from Ebola, two people are alive and much better after suffering from the disease. Dr.Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol were both risking their lives to fight Ebola when they both contracted it. So how are they alive and well today? Both Americans received a secret serum that was developed only in the recent past few months. Zmapp is an experimental drug created in California to fight the Ebola outbreak. Much testing on the drug is still needed and Zmapp will not be
hitting the market anytime soon, but although Zmapp is still in its first few steps it is spiking excitement in the stock market. Big pharmaceutical companies are keeping an eye on their stocks, as some companies have already jumped 25% overnight. Investors are hoping for Americans to line up for their shot of an Ebola vaccine.

So what is the CDC and WHO doing to protect us from Ebola? According to the CDC website they have activated an Emergency Operations Center, deployed teams of researchers to work in the infected areas, and put big restraints and warnings on flights in and out of West Africa. Ebola may have already come to the US, but critics say its only the beginning.