While driving to work this morning (at 5:45am...yuck!) several of the talk shows discussed the Ebola case in Dallas. Which then, of course, brought up the topic of movies such as Contagion. Silly. I get being scared but I also believe in educating yourself and learning the facts and protecting yourself/family.
I've said it a million times.....I keep up with my blog for personal reasons (memories!) and in hopes of educating others. With that being said here are a few fun facts about Ebola that I've come across!
Important facts to remember
about Ebola
Most of the population in West
Africa doesn’t have Ebola.
As of September 30, there had been
about 6,500 cases of Ebola diagnosed in Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra
Leone. However, more than 20 million people live in these countries. This means
fewer than 1 percent (.03 percent) have the virus – 99.97 percent of the
residents in these countries do
not have Ebola.
Diagnosis occurred in Dallas, but
the disease source is still in Liberia.
Tuesday’s news revolves around the
first case of Ebola that was diagnosed in the U.S. However, the
source of
transmission originated in Liberia – not here. Nothing has changed about the
epidemiology of this virus in the U.S.
Ebola is not a highly infectious
disease.
Ebola is a blood borne pathogen – it
is not transmitted like the flu or other airborne viruses. It is spread only
when symptoms are present.
The CDC is the best source of
information, not the media.
The best way to allay any concerns is
to educate yourself. The most current information about Ebola is available
online from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
There you go folks. Just a little food for thought. Hope everyone has a happy weekend....mine is starting NOW! :)
