Ebola virus infection is a highly contagious as well as fatal illness. It is spreading in Eastern Congo now. There are already patients or suspected cases in Italy and India in addition to the neighboring countries to Congo. The doctors struggling in Congo says it is out of control.
As this ABC article says the other countries than the US should contribute to this crisis by some means. But the US is responsible for supporting this probable pandemic since it is the country with the biggest GDP in the world.
The Trump administration has withdrawn from WHO this January. It has imposed burden to this organization which worked for public health in the world. Surprising enough, the White House restricted those with the expertise on this probable pandemic to collaborate with WHO.
Quarantine only slows spreading of the infectious illnesses but won't stop epidemic itself. Whether this Ebola virus infection would become another pandemic or not depends partially on the international network like WHO. There is no vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain causing the present outbreak. It may take a month or two to achieve the vaccine against this strain. Its production process and distributing it to the areas needing it require the network.
We are getting into an era of deficits of resources which easily elicit war or conflict. In this situation, if a pandemic breaks out anywhere in the world, it could result in total devastation. It is not a question whether we help those needing it but whether we may survive.
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