Ebola - should we be scared? By Robert R. Odle, Ph.D.

Now, I'm not a medical doctor or health expert, but a disease that kills 50 to 70% of each victims by drilling little holes in blood vessels ... well that seems scary to me.  It started 6 months ago and has now attacked 2000 people on the way to 20,000 per the World Health Organization (WHO).  I understand how you can track who has been exposed to the disease when there are 20 sick people, but 2000, or 20,000.  I don't think so.

The above is how Ebola starts, before it gets serious.

Then it starts getting serious ...

Yea, but it's way over in Africa, who cares.  Guess what.  Planes fly in and out of Africa.  But, you say plane flights are suspended flights to Monrovia, Liberia; Conakry, Guinea; and Freetown, Sierra Leone.  But, when it spreads to another Africa country will it be before or after flights to that country are cancelled?

Dr. Peter Piot, the Belgium microbiologist credited as co-discoverer of the Ebola virus in 1976, said in an interview published Tuesday he believes the efforts to contain the outbreak in West Africa are doomed to failure.  What does that mean? So, does West Africa get wiped out?  And of course, it just stops at the borders of the countries infected.

Are you kidding me?  First, even if we don't care about Africans and being our brother's keeper, can you imagine one person taking a plane into JFK or Chicago or Philly when they are contagious with Ebola.  Can you imagine tracking everyone down that would come in contact with them in the airport.  Are you kidding me?   I would say we would be up against an impossible position.  

So what are we doing.  We are going to test some possible vaccines after the FDA declares they are safe.  Are you kidding me, that is the wrong question.  The question is do they have a small chance of working against Ebola.  If they do, try them.  If they hurt instead of help, sorry about that, but something bigger than one person is at stake.  

I just heard one of the tv networks just gave the NFL $10 billion to carry the Thursday night football games.  Obama just came up with $250 million to fight Ebola.  Are you kidding me.  Our priorities? Our values?