* The 2014-2015 senior student signature series features area senior class students – and their own “signature” outlooks on a topic of their choice. A new outlook will be posted on Cross-Counties Connect each Friday. The series will begin with point of view comments by seniors from Mountain Lake Public High School. The opinions can be found by clicking on the Family & Faith link on the website’s header, and scrolling down to, and clicking on, Outlook. Their teachers are Brenda Feil and Kim Syverson.
Ebola: Possibly Coming To A Hospital Near You!
I do not agree with letting people that are infected with Ebola seek treatment in the United States. I say this because mistakes can happen when treating a patient and then and outbreak could happen in our homeland.
Ebola is a type of hemorrhagic fever that was first discovered in 1976 in The Democratic Republic of Congo. It causes, vomiting, diarrhea and decreased functions of the liver and kidneys.
In December 2013, a two-year-old boy from Guinea and his family died with Ebola. According to the Center For Disease Control website, this is believed to have caused the new epidemic in West Africa. When health officials noticed the outbreak, it was already too late. They say this because there had been too many cases and deaths before they could efficiently contained the outbreak.
Ebola has no cure, and remedies are only used to soothe the patients.
To make a diagnosis, blood samples are tested for viral antibodies, according to the World Health Organizatioin website. The fatality rate of Ebola is between 50% and 90%, the fatality rate varies among West African countries.
If the virus continues to keep on spreading from person-to-person, it will have the opportunity to mutate, and even become more contagious or dangerous – or become airborne.
When a patient is brought to the United States for treatment, they are brought to a biocontainment unit. These four specialized units are located in Omaha, Nebraska; Frederick, Maryland; Missoula, Montana and Atlanta, George.
It is hard to tell if a person has Ebola because at first it has the same symptoms as influenza, or even the common cold. Those exposed to the virus should be closely observed in quarantine for at least 21 days. During this time,a member of the medical staff could make a mistake and possibly get infected while treating the patient, and then this person could infect their family members and keep on spreading it.
Some people may say that not letting them seek treatment in the United States is a bit harsh. However, a group of U. S. scientists wrote in “The New York Times” that the Ebola outbreak is set to last another 12-to-18 months. So, think about it; there is now even more of a chance that the Ebola virus could come to the United States. Until scientists and researchers come up with a vaccine, there will be a lot more deaths.
The economic impact of the outbreak would kill more people than the virus itself, says the United Kingdom newspaper, “The Financial Times.” This means that if the government is spending a lot of money on containing the virus, they could forget about the needs of people. The people who rely on the government to give them food and shelter might be forgotten with all the focus on the virus, thus triggering an economic crisis.
I hope that all of the information that I have given you will persuade you to think a bit about the crisis in West Africa. Now with the first diagnosis and death in the United States, it is raising eyebrows about how well the Center for Disease Control is handling the situation. We should not let any people come into the United States with the virus; it is just too risky. Just think, if we keep letting infected people come into our country, it could result in more cases and possibly an epidemic. It is do or die.