The Ebola outbreak in Africa has continued to grow with over 4,200 confirmed cases and 2,200 deaths in five countries: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent out warnings to U.S. hospitals and doctors that “now is the time to prepare.”
The CDC issued a six-page Ebola “checklist” to help healthcare workers quickly diagnose patients who may be infected.
U.S. to send Military Aid to Africa
President Obama will ask Congress this week for another $88 million to fund his Ebola containment strategy which includes sending military personnel to West Africa to fight the spread of the deadly disease. Earlier this week, the U.S. state Department began placing bids for medical equipment, including 160,000 hazmat suits.
The Daily Mail Reports:
The size of the contracts indicates how seriously governments are taking the threat, especially considering that all 5,000 body bags were destined only for Liberia – one of three countries whose citizens have been hammered with new disease cases and paralyzed with fear.
The government contracts come amid troubling warnings about the possibility that Ebola could spread, mutate or both.
Obama talked about the possibility of the virus mutating in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” calling his decision to send in the military a “national security priority.”
“If we don’t make that effort now, and this spreads not just through Africa, but other parts of the world, there’s the prospect then that the virus mutates, it becomes more easily transmittable, and then it could be a serious danger to the United States,” he said.
Last week, the New York Times published an op-ed from infectious disease expert Michael T. Osterholm of the University of Minnesota called “What We’re Afraid To Say About Ebola.” In the article, Osterholm discussed the possibility of Ebola mutating and becoming transmittable through the air.
In the article Osterholm writes:
“Why are public officials afraid to discuss this? They don’t want to be accused of screaming “Fire!” in a crowded theater — as I’m sure some will accuse me of doing. But the risk is real, and until we consider it, the world will not be prepared to do what is necessary to end the epidemic.”
The primary concern with the current Ebola outbreak is what could happen if it hits a large metropolitan area. Experts can speculate, but there really isn’t any data to tell us what will happen since prior Ebola outbreaks have always been confined to remote areas of Africa that had little contact with the outside world.
Experts Warn Only a Matter of Time before Ebola reaches the U.S.
With a 21 day incubation period, and no mandated screenings procedures for people traveling from infected countries, it’s really not a matter of if, but when the virus reaches the United States
An analysis published this week noted that over 6,000 travelers fly from Nigeria to the U.S. every week, one of the countries hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak. Thousands more are being allowed to fly from Nigeria to the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and China, among other countries.
This government needs to come up with a serious plan to stop infected people from being able to enter the U.S., unfortunately the CDC seems to be taking a lacks dazzle approach to how their dealing with a potential Ebola outbreak in the U.S., or any other potential disease outbreaks as we noted last week.
If ebola gets out of it’s west African box we are all in deep shit.
i completely agree with you. i say bring it on.
Cdc is its own disease. Any caring individuals understand the fact of closing boarders closing shipments and flight other than supply drops or medical aid. Quarantine zones are joke. Zones should be built on incubation periods. With more zones to go to for help for those who are sick. It doesn’t take much to slam a few shipping containers together to build make shift hospitals or housing. Those who are sick should be obligated to go to quarantine zones. And better disposal or sanitary disposal of the passed away bodies should be cremated instead of put in the ground so no mistakes for a future outbreaks. Cdc just thinks this is just a good way of crowed control and a cash benefit to the medicaliindustry.
I agree with you its just something the government made up to control our population
The article says to share your thoughts. My thoughts are too nasty to print. Obama is working hard to cause an epidemic in this country before the election so that he can call it off. First the illegals and now he’s sending troops over there to make sure it gets back here! IF we make it to the election, anybody that votes for a Democrat should be eliminated as a danger to the American public!
It would figure that obama would blow a loud horn when people in africa start to die, but when christians, women and children are getting thier heads cut off and stuck on poles he sits around and plays the game. he is a real piece of work,,
HIV did not mutate nor hepatitis A or B Norwalk virus as well. There is no chance that Ebola will become airborne.
I consider myself a prepped, but nonsense like this turns away people.
The old crying wolf tale comes to my mind.
Let’s stay focused.
I took a few days to think b4 I responded.
Stay safe and ready.
A thought about the 3000 troops to be deployed in Africa re: dealing with the ebola virus. I have been reading book on the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic which, depending what book you read, the number of those who died in approximately 15 months was between 40 and 100 million. The disease began with a soldier reporting for sick call at a base in Kansas. He infected others. Needless to say, when the troops sailed to Europe to fight in World War I they carried the virus with them and infected Europe. Think what will happen if several of the troops deployed in Africa returns to the US with the virus and infects others. Use your imagination.
I believe the Ebola Virus is a serious disease that must treated with the utmost caution if were up to me I would close the US borders from all flights from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria until that virus is eradicated!
im all for closing the borders to them but at the same time people switch flights… the only real effective way to do that is to close our borders to everyone and not just Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria which if we were to do that businesses would go down not only here but all over the world so that would be highly unlikely unless we reach a stage 4 pandemic
One of the docs working on Ebola in the medical testing facility in Sierra Leon is a specialist in airborne viruses…why can’t Ebola be airborne?
Seems to me Donald Trump expressed some good ideas about restricting flights from Africa but got his head bit off by the lame stream media. The sad truth is Kenyan-born gay Moslem Obama is the Antichrist and nobody can change that.