Getting to Know Ebola

There is no need to panic. But there’s no cause to dismiss Ebola either.  

It’s been amusing to read comments from smart people who think coverage of the preparedness for Ebola is over-the-top. I guess they don’t understand how a pandemic works. They compare it to the flu or measles, which is flawed. Neither of those illnesses kills 70% of the people it infects. And besides, coverage of anything on 24/7 news channels is over the top.

The health of the people has to be the government’s top concern. Sick people drain the system and dead people don’t pay taxes. London’s LHSC is one of 10 Ontario hospitals designated by the health ministry as an Ebola referral hospital. Protocols are set, a sort of war-room team has been assembled and everyone, including Ontarians, has been told what will happen with any future, suspected cases.

Dismissing the threat of this illness is foolish. Believing that it can’t possibly spread to Canada means trusting everyone to tell the truth when at least one person with a suspected case in the US has already lied to authorities about recently returning from West Africa. It means believing those under voluntarily quarantine will do what’s right even though a medical doctor who serves as a talking head for NBC broke her quarantine. When SARS was spreading, authorities took precautions, companies – including Rogers where I was working at the time – had pandemic plans so everyone knew what to do if we got sick en masse. And, thankfully, we never had to put any of that planning into play.  Fortunately, Ebola isn’t airborne and it isn’t in this country. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let anyone call me naive for believing it could get here and it could spread. I’m not worried but I’m staying informed. I’ll thank my fellow media colleagues and others to stop mistaking my reasonable desire for information for hysteria.