Is Ebola spreading to the United States?

The question here is, is Ebola spreading to the United States? There was a case in Dallas, Texas about a man named Thomas Eric Duncan. Duncan went to the hospital on September 26 but was sent home with antibiotics, even though he told them he was in Africa. 2 days later he returned to the hospital by ambulance and was diagnosed with Ebola and in serious condition. He is worsening as you read this and just going downhill.

The main problems are that Duncan was outside of care for several days and he was in contact with several students. How did he get here being infected? Patients leaving Liberia’s capital Monrovia on international flights must wash their hands twice with chlorinated water before boarding, and their temperatures are taken at a security gate, and they are now having temperatures being taken at every gate to prevent people leaving with fevers.

But, they are not required to fill out a form about any possible contact with infected people. It’s not airborne, and you can’t get it from water or food. You could get it by contact with bodily fluids such as blood, sweat, or urine. Also contact with contaminated needles. Lets just say you travel to West Africa in Liberia, Guinea, or Sierra Leone. You return from your trip and develop symptoms 2–21 days after. These symptoms include high fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, weakness, stomach pain, and lack of appetite. At the hospital you are not quarantined, just treated with fluids and electrolytes, oxygen blood pressure medication, blood transfusions, or treatment for other infections. Why shouldn’t they be quarentined? They could spread it to their medical care or roommates.

There has recently been reports of new outbreaks in the U.S. There are 8 new potential Ebola patients. A scare on a U.S. plane with a sick patient on the flight recently happened, but it was negative. Also, a homeless man was in the ambulance right after Duncan and they thought he could have been infected. They finally found him yesterday, Sunday, October 5th and took him in to see if he has been infected. Which means he has been in contact with everyone since he’s everywhere and if he’s infected it has had a chance to spread.

I personally believe that the United States is always trying to get involved with everything. Did we need to send tons of people over there or send troops? It’s just increasing our risk of being infected. Maybe we could send money but we already have tons of debt and prices of everything will just keep going up to send it. I personally think,

Yes, Ebola is spreading to the United States, one person at a time.

Gilblom, Kelly, Caroline Chen, and Greg Lacour. “First Ebola Case Is Diagnosed in the U.S., CDC Reports.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 1 Oct. 2014. Web. 2 Oct. 2014.