able to curb the spread of the disease and to protect the remainder of the population, they
were unable to eradicate the virus entirely. For this reason, “sporadic fatal outbreaks in
humans and non-human primates” continued to occur throughout the African continent (Li and
Chen 1138). In their recent article entitled “Ebola Virus Re-Emergence: Is it Really Knocking at
Our Door?,” the microbiologists Dar and Choudhary offer the following synopsis of the history
of the disease: “Named after the Ebola river valley where the first reported outbreak occurred,
the virus has shown endemic activity with intermittent outbreaks since 1976. The virus was
relatively qu iescent in the 1980s and returned with a vengeance in the mid-1990s. The story of
the current outbreak began in Gueckedouin (Guinea)” (363). All of the scientists mentioned
above underscore that Ebola is a deadly infection that must be taken seriously. Ebola
outbreaks necessitate immediate and swift action in an era of globalization.
Nonetheless, the scientific community also emphasizes that Ebola is mainly a “third
world problem” due to the nature of the virus itself. Specifically, “The Ebola virus is transmitted
only through close and direct contact with the blood or body fluids of human cases or affected
animals” (Dar and Choudhary 363). In medical terms, Ebola is extremely infectious but noncontagious. Given that this infectious disease is not transmitted through airborne pathogens, it
is “hard to catch” in a so-called developed country (Kluger 32). Affirming that one has a better
chance of getting struck by lightning or dying in a traffic accident from a statistical perspective
than contracting the Ebola virus in the Western world, Michael Brooks explains, “The rapid
transmission in West Africa is largely a result of broken civil structures and health-care
systems [...] The consequences are a dearth of medical resources and a mistrust of
government [...] there is little reason for us to panic in the West” (31-32). Given the scientific
consensus that most individuals living in the United States have nothing to fear with the
exception of medical personnel in charge of directly treating sick patients who have been
transported to American soil from Africa, a well-informed, rational person must wonder why the
American populace is so obsessed with this issue. Why is this minor problem that is so easy to
control with the proper protocols monopolizing the conversation in American culture and
politics? Even as I write these lines, the country has already been declared Ebola free, yet
unfounded fears still reign supreme.
Numerous scholars assert that the mainstream media is largely to blame for the “Ebola
Panic Disorder” that has afflicted millions of Americans (Brooks 31). Instead of responsibly
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