Ebola outbreak kills thousands, Disease reaches US soil

This year alone, the Ebola virus has claimed the lives of over 1,000 African citizens according to cdc.gov. The World Health Organization has confirmed 1,310 laboratory cases and 1,145 deaths as of August.
In addition, the virus has recently crept its way into the US, already killing one victim, and leaving two others critically ill. The two survivors, who contracted the disease in Liberia, were flown to a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and as an extra precaution they have been separated from the rest of the patients in the area.
“I heard about it on the news and it sounds terrible. I don’t understand how it came to be this bad so quickly,” said sophomore Austin Biedermann.
ZMapp, the drug which helps to fight Ebola, has been administered to both American aid workers, and they are slowly showing signs of improvement. According to foxnews.com, the drug has not been cleared by the FDA to export to West Africa, leaving hundreds to die from the virus.
Ebola is believed to be contracted as the result of contact between West African fruit bats and humans. Within the past year, the virus has traveled from Guinea to Sierra Leone and Liberia. The early symptoms of Ebola are similar to that of the flu, and often result in a hemorrhage.
Globally, it is a large fear that Ebola could become so large of an epidemic that there will not be enough doctors to supply help to the sick. Currently in the US, there are 245 doctors per every 100,000 citizens, in comparison to the two doctors per 100,000 citizens in Sierra Leone.
“I did not know how dangerous the virus was and I wish I knew more about it,” Biedermann said.
The CDC has been working on spreading news regarding ebola and what measures should be taken to promote good health, stressing the need for individuals to separate themselves from known infected patients.