When Ebola first hit the media back in late summer, no one could have predicted how serious it would be by this point. It seems that you can hardly go a day without hearing some news, or someone making a joke that their sick friend has the disease. But in reality, we have a lot less to fear than the media leads us to believe.
According to NPR.com, Americans have a 1 in 11.3 million chance of catching Ebola. To put it in perspective, you are more likely to die by being struck by lightning (1 in 9.6 million) or die from a bee sting.
What is the government doing to make sure this doesn’t spread throughout the country? Travelers from the West Africa area have their temperatures taken and are questioned about possible exposure to Ebola (1 in 5.2 million).
“The C.D.C. has also announced that a site manager would be sent immediately to any U.S. hospital treating Ebola patients to oversee all aspects of infection control, including making sure that health officials properly remove protection gear”(New York Times).
8 people have contacted Ebola in the United States, and 7 of them are recovered or currently in treatment now. Everyone who is or was infected was carefully looked over by a C.D.C site manager, ensuring that the disease will not spread. And it hasn’t.
Also, Ebola can only be spread through body fluids, and it is not infectious unless the carrier starts to show symptoms. In other words, unless someone has Ebola-like symptoms (flu-like symptoms, vomiting and/or diarrhea), then you are probably good.
So keep calm and carry on IUP. You have bigger, more important things to worry about than catching Ebola this season.