These days you can’t really go through a day without hearing
about the word, Ebola. Most people started hearing about this virus in March
when the first case of it appeared in West Africa. However, the first time the
then called “Ebola hemorrhagic fever” appeared was in 1976 in
the countries of Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. So what is the
difference between this outbreak and the last one? This outbreak has killed more
people and spread faster than the one that took place in 1976.
Scientists aren’t completely sure where this virus is
from, but they do believe that it comes from fruit bats. They think that in the
last ten years bats have carried it from central to West Africa. A person can
get this virus by coming in contact with a virus ridden person’s bodily fluids,
needles or syringes, and the infected fruit bats. In the impoverished countries
in West Africa where health care and hospitals have been devastated because of
civil war it is clear to see how easily it has been for it to spread. An
infected person’s symptoms will appear in two to twenty-two days. These
symptoms include fever, severe headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea,
vomiting, abdominal pain, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. There are
vaccines that have been invented but are not safe enough to be used. So as of
now, doctors have been quarantining patients, giving them the proper fluids,
maintaining the proper oxygen and blood pressure levels, as well as the treating
occurring infections. Right now the outbreak has reached over 10,000 people and
killed 4,922. Scientists believe it will reach up to 20,000 people by the time
the outbreak is over.
So what does all this mean to Americans? Before the
arrival of the late Thomas Duncan, Ebola was obviously a problem and a great
worry. However it was a problem and great worry in Africa, not in America. When
Thomas Duncan came to America unknowingly bringing Ebola with him, it brought
the problem to America. Many questions swept America when the virus arrived.
Will I get Ebola if someone coughs on me? Are American hospitals equipped to
fight this virus? Is Ebola the reason the government sucks? The answers are: no, all hospitals have been
debriefed on what to do but Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, the
NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Montana and
the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha are specially equipped to handle
infectious diseases. Kaci Hickox, who worked with Ebola patients in West
Africa, is currently quarantined in NYC because of her Ebola like symptoms.
This brings the virus even closer to Rochester. Strong Memorial Hospital is a
New York State designated hospitals picked for training cases of Ebola. Depending
on a person’s perspective this could be a good thing or a bad thing.
Ebola is a virus that is affecting people across the
world, and the main question is can it be stopped? Unfortunately the answer to
that question is that time can only tell.
Editorial
Problems at Aquinas: Lunches
For periods four, five, six, and seven Aquinas students
and faculty are eating lunch in the cafeteria or the student union. The
majority of students buy lunch, and one of the main concern is “did my mom or
dad put money in my lunch account?" This is a concern because the lunches at
Aquinas are just too expensive. A combo and any drink besides milk, water and
juice is $5.00. At Spencerport my brother’s lunch was 2.60 for the combo and
any drink. This is $2.40 difference that may seem like nothing, but ask our
parents who the ones are putting money in our accounts; it can add up. If
someone gets the combo previous stated at Aquinas for three weeks it can add up
to $75 a month. Aquinas parents already pay around $9,000 tuition for our
education; this extra cost is not easy to budget. When I asked some students
about the lunches at Aquinas there were mentions of the lack of variety and by
seventh period there are no bagels or sandwiches left. Since it is my second
year being in seventh period lunch, I can attest to the latter comment. So will
Aquinas ever lower the price of lunch? Well, sometimes even the impossible is
possible.
By: Tori Wilson
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