Ebola rumors begin to dim

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The Ebola disease rumors spread faster than a wildfire. The news went on and on about the victims who have contracted this disease. Before this year, the first the US heard about Ebola in America was when a man, identified as Thomas Eric Duncan, returned to Dallas from Africa and died on October 1. So far, six people have either died, are in treatment, or have recovered on American soil.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever, or simply just Ebola, is a disease that can spread upon direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infectious person. Another way to get Ebola is by touching an infected surface and then touching the mouth or eyes.

“Ebola is spread through the direct contact of blood and body fluids with someone who is infected,” said Health Science teacher Kristen Haggard.  “It is really important to know that Ebola is not spread through the air or sneezing.”

The best ways to prevent Ebola infection is to wash hands frequently, to avoid contact with blood or bodily fluids of any other person, to not touch things that have been in contact with an infected person, to not touch anybody who died from Ebola, to not touch bats or eat raw meat of an infected animal, and to avoid going to hospitals in Western Africa.

West Africa is a hot spot right now for Ebola. The outbreak started with a two-year-old patient in the village of Guinea, Africa. The toddler sadly died on December 6, 2013. Scientists do not know how the child was infected.  According to CNN, the death toll from Ebola soars past 4,900 in West Africa. Statistics believe that there has been about 550,000 to 1.4 million people with Ebola in January 2014.

There is a video of a man who had died several hours later, regained life, and rose from the dead. Many kids have wondered if they are able to get Ebola.

“My thoughts on Ebola are that we need to stop making it funny.” said freshman Ellee Hall.  “This is something serious, not something to laugh about.”

“People are overreacting,” said freshman Andrew Enloe. “It’s stupid because it’s not like your actually going to get Ebola and die.”

The Ebola rumors have died down since the beginning of November. As the rumors begin to dim, statistics say that 1 million people will be affected with Ebola by January 2015, according to Fox News.

“I do not think that the Ebola outbreak will get much worse in the United States. I think that the United States is extremely reactive and has placed and immediate focus on taking any measures necessary to limit the potential of an outbreak in our country. With improved training and appropriate screening in our health care facilities and appropriate screening in our health care facilities, we are ready to immediately detect anyone that has potentially been infected with Ebola and isolate them properly to prevent the spread of infection,” said Haggard. “I do not believe that the government has started the Ebola outbreak as a form of ‘population control’ which is what some students have come and talked to me about. They have asked me if I believe that is true and I absolutely do not believe that to be true. I think that the news is just doing their job, or the job that they think they need to do. I do believe that it has caused a little more panic than necessary in the United States.”