The Ebola virus disease has slipped through the watchful eye of the American Customs and the U.S. Border Patrol, penetrated our walls and made its way into our great nation. Thomas Eric Duncan traveled to Dallas, Texas from Liberia on Sept. 20 and became the first to be diagnosed with Ebola in the US, striking fear and panic into the hearts of many Americans.
According to recent polls, seven out of ten Americans are concerned about the outbreak of Ebola in the States and 40 percent have taken immediate action, from changing lifestyles to adjusting living arrangements, to prevent themselves from becoming a part of the Ebola outbreak statistics.
Thomas Eric Duncan unfortunately passed away on Oct. 8 at 7:51 a.m. from the virus. Ebola is a type of non-airborne virus (transmitted only through large droplets of bodily fluids) and it has been an ongoing issue in many African countries. Early signs of Ebola include fever, headaches, joint and muscle aches, chills and weakness. According to WebMD, if any of these symptoms apply to you, you already have it.
Please contact Student Health Services if your symptoms worsen and if excessive bleeding from your nose, ears, or eyes occur. You may also have Ebola if you experience blood in your diarrhea and relatively large rising, spreading rashes. The university also suggests that “persons planning to travel to a high-risk area take appropriate precautions pre and post-travel.” In other words, stay in school, kids, do not go to Texas, do not go to Africa.
In West Africa alone, there has been over 8,000 cases of Ebola and more than 4,000 people have passed from this virus since the recent outbreak. Similarly in the US, there has been an outrageous number of one case of Ebola and one death resulting from the virus. Since the domestic introduction of Ebola, the importance of American intervention in West Africa has escalated.
In response to this abominable Ebola outbreak in the US, President Obama stated, “As I’ve said from the start of this outbreak, I consider this a top national security priority. This is not just a matter of charity…This is an issue about our safety.” All of our resources must be concentrated to fight and prevent Ebola in the U.S. from spreading any further.
Previously, the only screening process in existence was a questionnaire handed out on flights from selected African countries to the U.S. On these questionnaires, passengers answer various questions that ultimately determine: how Ebola are you? Clearly Thomas Eric Duncan didn’t think he was all that Ebola. Thankfully, the government has taken immediate action to step up the screening process by taking the temperature of every passenger arriving in American airports from West Africa and making sure the Border Patrol agents, with their eyes of hawks and nose of wolves, identify the passengers that seem even remotely ill.
Though Thomas Eric Duncan would probably have passed the screening anyway due to his lack of Ebola symptoms at the time of his flight’s arrival, but at least the government is trying.
As President Obama suggested, it is crucial for us to take immediate action to terminate Ebola. As Americans, it is our duty and our honor to fight for justice, even in a war against an epidemic. Ignoring this issue and staying idle would be completely un-American and therefore wrong. With that said, we can again manipulate the power of social media to our benefit. We are proposing a brand new trend — the Jump Challenge.
If you are tagged in a post on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter entitled the Jump Challenge, you must repost a video of yourself jumping up and down in front of the camera within 24 hours. Be sure to tag at least three people in your post in order to spread the word and raise awareness for the existence of Ebola within the states. This is the only way to stop Ebola in the United States once and for all. Participate in the #JumpChallenge now—or get Ebola.
This is a satirical article written by Vanessa Hsia is a first year English major and can be reached at fanshunh@uci.edu
