Ebola is not only a plague throughout Africa, but has also spread to the United States. Americans have overreacted about petty diseases similar to this in the past, but this is very serious and reactions are justifiable. Tom Frieden, doctor and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “It is the world’s first Ebola epidemic, and it’s spiraling out of control. It’s bad now, and it’s going to get worse in the very near future. There is still a window of opportunity to tamp it down, but that window is closing. We really have to act now.”
Ebola is not only a plague throughout Africa, but has also spread to the United States. Americans have overreacted about petty diseases similar to this in the past, but this is very serious and reactions are justifiable. Tom Frieden, doctor and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “It is the world’s first Ebola epidemic, and it’s spiraling out of control. It’s bad now, and it’s going to get worse in the very near future. There is still a window of opportunity to tamp it down, but that window is closing. We really have to act now.”

Ebola scare moves close to home

October 16, 2014

Ebola is not only a plague throughout Africa, but has also spread to the United States. Americans have overreacted about petty diseases similar to this in the past, but this is very serious and reactions are justifiable. Tom Frieden, doctor and the Director of the Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention, said, "It is the world’s first Ebola epidemic, and it’s spiraling out of control. It’s bad now, and it’s going to get worse in the very near future. There is still a window of opportunity to tamp it down, but that window is closing. We really have to act now."
Ebola is not only a plague throughout Africa, but has also spread to the United States. Americans have overreacted about petty diseases similar to this in the past, but this is very serious and reactions are justifiable. Tom Frieden, doctor and the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, said, “It is the world’s first Ebola epidemic, and it’s spiraling out of control. It’s bad now, and it’s going to get worse in the very near future. There is still a window of opportunity to tamp it down, but that window is closing. We really have to act now.”

A pregnant woman, whose identity remains anonymous, flew into the O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Oct. 8. Concerns began to spread after it became known that she was from Liberia, a country stricken with a terrifying plague: ebola.

Ebola is a rare disease that causes uncontrollable internal and external bleeding as well as damage to the immune system. It is spread solely through contact with bodily fluids and sometimes skin of the infected.

There have been numerous recorded outbreaks throughout our world’s history, the first occurring in African countries during 1976. Another outbreak was announced in Guinea in March 2014. Since then, the virus has been spreading throughout African countries, and in one case, to Texas in the United States, resulting in the death of that individual.

Currently, there is no known cure to ebola, although researchers are doing their best to find one during this time of need. The fatality rate of the disease is up to 90 percent.

Due to immigration violations, the woman was taken into custody in the Kenosha County Jail after arrival in America. She was sent straight to the health department at the jail based on protocol for pregnancy.

“We were alerted when she came in, and we knew that she was from Liberia. We were told that she was screened by the CDC,” Sheriff David Beth said, according to an ABC report.

Although not showing any symptoms from the onset, Beth made the decision not to take any chances on something so serious. The sheriff explained that the detainee was isolated all day and monitored for any signs of the virus. After confirmation of the woman’s health, she was released from jail and sent back to Liberia on Oct. 9, as directed by Customs and Border Protection.

According to a Fox 6 news report, Sheriff Beth said, “It’s just something that has to be thought about because you’re weighing this kind of scare even though there was never any symptoms. The person who was here was never sick, and when she left, she was never sick.”

In spite of the fact that this scare ended up only as a false alarm, it attracted more attention to the issue of ebola, especially when brought so close to home in Wisconsin.

“It’s brought to a head that we have got to update our protocol in dealing with the situation,” Beth said, according to a Chicago Tribune report. “It wasn’t on our radar, and it should have been.”

In response to this event, officials will be reporting to O’Hare and other international airports to look for signs of symptoms, to gain knowledge of the health of travellers passing through and take temperatures of passengers if the situation warrants it.

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