Ebola is not a foreign virus disease to the U.S. or the Bethesda community: in fact, Nina Pham, an infected nurse from Texas, was being treated two months ago right next door to Stone Ridge, at the National Institutes of Health.
- Ebola first appeared in the 1970s and has since had major breakouts in African nations
- Scientists had not made vaccines prior to the major Central African outbreak because previous outbreaks had been small and sporadic
- Scientists began experimenting with various Ebola vaccines in early September, 2014, at NIH (National Institutes of Health, next door to Stone Ridge)
- A nurse who cared for the Dallas Ebola patient was moved in mid-October 2014 to NIH, but was fully cured and discharged on October 24
- President Barack Obama gave the Dallas nurse who survived Ebola, Nina Pham, a huge hug upon her release from quarantine
- Canada is a world leader in Ebola research: for example, Canadian scientists developed an Ebola vaccine to then be tested at clinical centers in Maryland, such as NIH and Walter Reed
- The Ebola crisis has spurred violence and ignorance across the nation → two Senegalese students in New York City were taken to the emergency room after being beaten up on their school playground by students chanting “Ebola! Get away from here!”; another Liberian student from Staten Island, New York, admitted to being embarrassed about saying he is Liberian, because of the teasing he has received since the outbreak occurred.
- Increasing numbers of African immigrants are feeling personally victimized, whether physically or emotionally, due to the Ebola outbreak → this victimization is due to ignorance regarding the virus disease and how it is spread
- The following is a link to a travel algorithm on Ebola from the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) travel algorithm on Ebola: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/ebola-algorithm.pdf
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