Welcome to America--Ebola!

Maybe it’s just me, but for some reason I have a hard time trying to figure out why we needed to bring people who have contracted the Ebola virus back to the United States for treatment. Logically, I think, it would be best to keep the spreading epidemic as far away from the US as possible, and that means all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to me.

We have the means to set up shop in Africa that are equal to anything available here. And we can send doctors, nurses, and the needed drugs over there. I am not trying to create a storm here, but North America has served as a great testament to what can happen when a bug or virus is introduced.

When Christopher Columbus and the rest of the European explorers found the America’s back in the late 1500’s the diseases they brought with them decimated the Native American populations throughout North and South America. That isn’t even speculation anymore. Small pox in particular was devastating, but other common to Europe, diseases like the flu also plagued the Native Americans.

Yes, I know that happened at a time when we had no idea we carried such diseases, and certainly no one back then was aware of the problems they were bringing. But smallpox was unknown in the Americas until the Europeans arrived. So if that can happen by accident, why on Earth would anyone want to bring something like Ebola here on purpose?

No question Ebola is a dangerous disease. Over the past several decades it would arrive, blossom, kill a few hundred people, and then disappear. But for some reason, this latest bloom seems to be out of control. And the thought of people coming to America for treatment is like inviting a vampire into your home.

There are dozens of examples throughout our country that draw a parallel to the current Ebola situation. Start with Killer Bees, toss in fire ants, and just for kicks look at the Elm Bark Beetle, the cause of Dutch Elm disease which has destroyed the elm tree population. And of course, the problems with invasive species like pythons in the Everglades.

Okay, so what’s the point?

Well it seems to me that we have a hard time controlling those things. In fact, we haven’t controlled them at all. They are still a problem that is devastating in one way or another.

But Ebola is different. Most experts say that controlling Ebola is more about confining the disease and those who have it. Eventually, without any more hosts, the disease “dies” out.

But we have opted to open Pandora’s Box by bringing infected people back to the US for treatment. If confinement of the disease is the best way to stop it, why purposely expand its territory to two continents?

Already dozens of people have risked being exposed to the deadly disease. Whole families are at risk, and who knows how many other people may have been exposed without knowing it? Think about how many people you come in contact with on any given day, and then expand it to a day when you are traveling. Most International Air Terminals, such as JFK or Reagan International, are chock full of people. Just waiting at the carousel to pick up your luggage will put you in contact with hundreds of other passengers.

For my money, we probably should never have brought those people back to the United States. We could easily have set up some kind of operation closer to where the outbreak is taking place. Past experience shows we are not very good at keeping people isolated. It’s difficult enough to be 100 percent effective. But WHO knows, we may get lucky this time.