Lets not get carried away with ebola panic. The virus itself requires body fluid contact, and understanding this is very important. Three things deeply ingrained in our social structure make it much more difficult to spread here than in the poverty-stricken regions of Africa where the cases have originated from. Unlike the areas where this outbreak is common, we have nearly universal access to sanitary restroom and sewage disposal facilities along with clean drinking water, a cultural norm of regular washing (most notably the hands) especially in medical and food preparation facilities, and a peculiar social quirk that Americans are notorious for--we are not particularly touchy people and have rather large comfort zones that we prefer not to let others in. This makes it highly unlikely that any one of us will ever be in a situation where contracting it would be likely. Flu, on the other hand, is almost ignored. Influenza kills roughly 50,000 per year, mainly children and senior citizens. Influenza can be transmitted by fluid contact AND by air. It is also highly preventable; there is a plentiful supply of inexpensive vaccines available, updated every year as the flu virus mutates, yet only 48% of us can be bothered to go get it. Moral of the story? Dont waste your time and money panicking over doomsday situations that are highly unlikely. Focus instead on taking care of the definite risks that you can do something about, even if it means having to make a small effort.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 04:31:27 +0000
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