Ebola, news and discussion

[SunnySonja]

Originally Posted by Kelt

Is the CDC minimizing or the media maximizing?

This reminds me very much of the fervor surrounding AIDS in the early 80’s except with this we know what it is and in this country you would pretty much have to try to get it by placing yourself in danger of direct contact with bodily fluids from someone who is displaying symptoms and been in proximity to it. Hemorragic fevers have been around for a long time and transmission in a place that is aware of it and equipped to deal with it would be difficult in large numbers.

Would travel restrictions help? I doubt it, we can only close our borders to a point, air travelers come from all over and they could have started from anywhere.

Would I be careful in areas of likely contact? Yes.

Would I encourage the kind of hysteria that has been seen around leprosy, polio, and HIV? No. I think educated adults in a first world setting can stay out of harms way for the most part.

I believe I have a far greater chance of being killed by a drunk driver or a particularly nasty flu than Ebola. I have face masks and gloves in my regular emergency kit and a good pantry as always. The most difficult part for me right now is separating real information from hype.

I think civil unrest from mis-information is a real possibility though.

What Kelt said!

The imminent panic will be the biggest hurdle we will have to face. Actually contracting Ebola is pretty tough to do.