Tuesday, November 04, 2014

The Ebola Panic Epidemic Continues


A teacher in Louisville, Kentucky, resigned because of the Ebola panic in the US:

Susan Sherman, a religious education teacher who is also a registered nurse, was recently on a mission in Kenya in eastern Africa. When she returned, St. Margaret Mary school requested she take a precautionary 21-day leave and produce a health note from her doctor, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Louisville.
How close did Susan Sherman go to the areas of Ebola?  This map gives you an idea if you remember that Kenya is on the right edge of the African continent:


Kenya is shown on this map:



I'm too lazy to figure out the distance from Kenya to the nearest country which does have people with Ebola.  But it's sort of wanting to quarantine people who have been to Louisiana because Oregon had some illness.

All these reactions may be understandable, because of the hind-brain response to new and poorly understood threats.  But information is the proper vaccination here, and information seems sorely lacking.  And some politicians play on that fear.

Speaking of Ebola and politics, can you even imagine what would happen if the party in power during a real Ebola epidemic in the US were the one which wants to choke the public health care system to almost-death and save lots of money through privatizations?  Vote.  It's important.