Ebola Outbreak: What Should the U.S. Do?

An image often used when news
reporters discuss Ebola

Almost 10,000 people have been infected with the deadly Ebola virus since December of 2013 and it has been contracted in the U.S. for the first time in history. U.S. officials have been working to prevent the virus from spreading further, but conflicting information has left policymakers and the public confused about what the best mode of action is. What should we be doing to prevent the outbreak from further spreading through our population?

  Media coverage is causing unnecessary panic about Ebola

Don’t get me wrong; Ebola is a serious, deadly virus. The progression is terrifying, the symptoms are painful, and the death rate is high. Irrational fear of Ebola has haunted me since I learned what it was in 8^th grade science class and watched the (fictional) movie Outbreak.  

But the truth is Ebola is nothing to panic about. It’s not easy to spread among people that are not in close contact. It only spreads through bodily fluids, so you shouldn’t be worried about getting it unless you have exchanged saliva, blood, vomit, or any other intimate fluid with someone who is infected. Air travel is generally safe, you are much more likely to get the flu or a cold from flying because those viruses are airborne (get your flu shots!).

As Jon Stewart put it, the media reporting on Ebola should be titled “au bon panic.”

Media reporting is causing unnecessary fear and making the public panic by portraying Ebola as the next potential zombie apocalypse. Not only that, misinformation and exaggeration has pitted politicians against each other in the frenzy, instead of uniting them to work together to solve a problem that none of them created. So what should we actually be doing to combat Ebola?

Should the U.S. restrict air travel from infected countries? 

Some policymakers are calling for the U.S. to ban passengers from West Africa in the U.S.

Despite what some politicians are suggesting, health and international policy experts agree that closing the borders to or from infected countries would make the spread of Ebola worse. If travel is restricted to or from countries like Liberia, that have been ravaged by the outbreak, it will make it harder to prevent the disease from spreading in those countries.

"Any discontinuation of transport will affect humanitarian aid, doctors, nurses and human resources entering the country, the transfer of biological sampling and equipment for hospitals," Daniel Menucci, for the World Health Organization Travel and Transport Task Force, said. “All of this needs international transporting, international airlines. This will create more problems in helping the countries most affected.”

According to health officials, if we can’t stop the spread of Ebola in West Africa, it will be harder to stop the spread globally. In a testimony before congress the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the CDC, Beth Bell, stated, “The best way to protect the U.S. is to stop the outbreak in West Africa."

Furthermore, banning travel from those countries will make it harder to track people with the disease who travel by other means. Not being able to track those with the disease makes it harder to identify and isolate those who have been in contact with the infected and trace the source.

What can the U.S. do about Ebola?

The CDC have already started tightening restrictions and implementing new protocols to increase precautions. Today, the U.S. began to carry out more Ebola monitoring for passengers entering the U.S. from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. These travelers are now checked for Ebola symptoms and are required answer Ebola-related questions when they enter one of the five designated U.S. airports from those countries. The travelers will then be required to provide phone numbers, addresses, and emails to check in with health authorities every day for 21 days.

Passengers traveling from West Africa have their temperature taken before entering the U.S.

The U.S. needs ensure that health care workers are trained to a standard procedure when a patient exhibits signs of Ebola. Once admitted, a special team with fully protective gear and precautions can treat that patient. This protocol has already been implemented by the CDC, but as we found out it is has not been flawless in the first U.S. Ebola diagnoses. As we learn from our mistakes and take measures to treat and control the spread of Ebola, the danger is minimized.

Why isn’t there a cure yet?

A cure or vaccine for Ebola hasn’t been on the front line of development due to the low probability of infection. Pharmaceutical companies haven’t prioritized the development of a treatment or a vaccine for Ebola because previously there was not much potential for a profit from such a drug. As NIH director, Francis Collins, stated in The Huffington Post, budget cuts to scientific research have slowed the development of an Ebola vaccine, which it has been working on since 2001.

Technicians set up Ebola assay to develop experimental treatments

Since the outbreak began last December, focus has increased on the development of a treatment. The NIH and several public companies have fast-tracked the development of vaccines and treatments for Ebola. Experimental treatments currently being developed include: ZMapp, TKM-Ebola, Favipiravir, BCX4430, Brincidofovir, and JK-05. Experimental vaccines include cAd3-ZEBOV, developed by the NIH and GlaxoSmithKline, and rVSV-ZEBOV, developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada. However, clinical trials of vaccines raise ethical questions, and some are suggesting that the standard procedure should not be used in the cases of these vaccines.

One positive story from the outbreak, which has not been the focus of media, is the potential for survivors of Ebola to help develop treatments. Survivors of Ebola, as with most viruses, are immune. They can’t get sick from the same virus again because their blood develops a way to fight it. The blood of survivors is being used to help treat other sick patients because it contains Ebola-fighting antibodies that can help boost the immune systems of those who are sick with it. Researchers are also studying these antibodies to help create a cure. An article in Popular Science goes into detail about these promising new methods.

Ebola virus particles budding on a cell.

While this is the deadliest outbreak of Ebola in history, it is still nothing to panic about in the U.S. We are developing treatments and tightening up procedures to slow the spread of the virus. So, go about your normal fall activities, including getting your flu shots and covering your coughs! No need to walk around in a HAZMAT suit.

Thanks for reading, and cheers to your brain!

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