Ebola: False Alarm on International Flight (Written by Elizabeth Muscari 6th period)

Ebola has become one of the most talked about topics when it comes to Dallas and Liberia, and recently, airplanes. In lieu of Thomas Eric Duncan, the man who was the first to be diagnosed with the Ebola virus in the United States, has made flyers uneasy and more alert knowing a potentially ill person could infect their plane. International flight 998 from Brussels, Belgium (the same place Duncan connected to Dallas from) was carrying a passenger that began vomiting uncontrollably halfway through the flight. Flight crew became nervous and speculative of another case of Ebola. The flight landed in Newark, DE at 1:50 pm. The New Jersey Department of Health ruled out the possibility of Ebola once the ill passenger was heavily questioned, examined, and quarantined for several hours. Although the passenger was diagnosed with an illness unrelated to Ebola, many flight members said he was wearing a face mask, which contributed to the possibility of him having a serious virus, like Ebola. Others claimed that they suspected him to have Ebola because he "looked like someone from Liberia". The unidentified passenger was allowed to leave after a few hours and was reimbursed for the trouble. Personally, I think that precautions should be taken when it comes to something as sensitive as Ebola, but I still feel a little sorry for that passenger because people made assumptions, even before he vomited, based on his attire, appearance, and mask. Ebola is a subject we, as United States citizens, can no longer ignore or treat lightly, and we should be aware of people with the symptoms at all times. However, if being a little too cautious is allowed when talking about Ebola, I think we are taking too many cautions and assuming too much based on little facts. For example, many believe that they can catch Ebola just by living in Dallas. This is false. Ebola is not an airborne virus and the man and his family are being isolated for reasons of not wanting to infect the public. Another thing is that although the man with Ebola connected to Dallas through a flight in Brussels, the same place the man who was thought to have Ebola flew out of, the chances of him having the illness are slim. Courtesy of CNN (U.S) Written by Elizabeth Muscari