Ebola - How Safe Are We?

Bird flu, swine flu, foot and mouth; it almost seems natural that a deadly virus comes to the front of our newspapers and broadcasters ever few years, of course Ebola is no different. Without a doubt Ebola is a killer and is contagious with nearly 1,000 people dying of it since the outbreak in West Africa.

The virus will spread there's no stopping it and more people will die from it, that's obvious, it has no current cure. But the media are, once again, trying to scare the public. Take the Daily Mirror story of an elderly woman who arrived at Gatwick airport from a flight from Sierra Leone, the headline read:  "Ebola terror at Gatwick as passenger collapses and dies getting off Sierra Leone flight", it turned out the woman didn't even have Ebola! Expect similar headlines in certain newspapers I shall not mention.



How the Ebola virus looks under a microscope. Picture courtesy of truthfed.com

Let's just put this virus into context: since the outbreak in February 300,000 people have died from Malaria and Tuberculosis is thought to have claimed nearly double that figure.

Compared to other virus' the chances of catching Ebola from someone who has it themselves is fairly low in comparison to other infections. To become infected with the virus people must have direct contact with bodily fluids of a visibly infected person. Contrasted to the likes of the flu, Ebola can be easily contained. Anyone that has the virus is quarantined immediately.

The earlier the virus is found in an individual the better chance the person has of surviving. Despite Ebola killing over half the people it has infected it can be managed. Although the British healthcare system receives a lot of criticism (harsh criticism at that) it is miles ahead of any system in the West of Africa therefore the chances of contracting the virus here gives you a better of survival than in the hit areas.

Nurses were protective equipment and a sprayed with disinfectant as a precaution not to spread the disease. Picture courtesy of cnn

Despite there being no cure for Ebola it is understood more people in the U.K and U.S will die of a more deadly virus: flu, this will not be helped by the fact the two virus share similar early symptoms. What people are worried about is the coverage of the virus rather than the virus itself, sicken to think that Ebola has received more media coverage than the war crimes that are going on in Ukraine and in Gaza.

Ebola is a terrible killer and the strict measures in place, such as British planes not heading to Ebola hit countries, are justified. But just because you have a fever or a headache it doesn't mean your life is at risk.

Ebola is a new story that will scare the hypochondriacs in us. Swine flu had a similar stint in this country, the media went crazy about it, yet it claimed the lives of few compared to other deadly diseases. Many of us will get coughs, colds and fever like symptoms throughout the winter but the number of us that contract Ebola - very few.