How to stop Ebola in America: Ban air travel from West Africa

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How to stop Ebola in America: Ban air travel from West Africa

In an effort to stop Ebola from spreading within the United States, five airports have begun additional screenings for travelers from West Africa.

These screenings include using no-touch thermometers to take the temperatures of passengers arriving from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea – the three countries which have been the most affected by the deadly Ebola outbreak. The passengers who have a fever will be interviewed to help officials determine whether or not they have been exposed to Ebola. If so, quarantine units are in place at each of the airports in order to isolate those who may be infected. But despite these efforts, this will not stop an Ebola outbreak in the U.S.

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Ebola: The world of global infectious disease is getting smaller

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Ebola: The world of global infectious disease is getting smaller

Over the past decade, numerous infectious diseases have shown up in the United States including SARS in 2003, H1N1 or ‘swine flu’ in 2009, MERS and enterovirus D68, and now, the Ebola virus. For Ebola, the 2014 epidemic is the largest outbreak in history.

With Ebola being an exotic disease, Americans never thought we would see much more of this disease other than what we’ve seen happening in the news in West Africa. But since Ebola has made its way to the states, we must take this as an opportunity to realize that the U.S. is not invincible to such infectious diseases. While the likelihood of a widespread Ebola outbreak in the U.S. is low, it is important to know that it remains a possibility because recent events have shown us how easily infectious disease can make its way into our country. 

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