Moore Ebola Paper 1

*Thank you so much for letting me change my topic. Also, the word counts of the articles are
noted at the top of each first page.

Contrary to popular belief, Ebola is not a new virus. Ebola first emerged in Sudan in
1976. It affected 284 people and had a death rate of 53%. Since 1976, the virus has resurged and
died down multiple times. The question thats often asked today is how did such a deadly virus
resurge again. The answers lies within African animals. Yes, thats right, the animals,
particularly fruit bats, are the hosts of the virus. The virus can be spread through contact with
infected blood, meat, or bodily fluids of the animals. Currently, there are four Ebola cases
diagnosed in the US and over 10,000 globally. Of those 10,141 cases, 4,922 people have died. It
is important to note that the widespread coverage of Ebola did not occur until the virus spread to
bigger, more financially stable countries. (i.e. America). Ebola has been killing thousands in
West Africa for roughly the past six months, but the virus made national headlines about three
months ago, after the first US diagnosis. Health officials never fathomed Ebola spreading into
their respective countries, and now that it has, they are left unprepared. Officials have
administered drug trial treatments. Ironically, they have administered treatments in countries (i.e.
America) where the amount of Ebola cases is significantly low. It is odd that the virus originated
in Africa and yet, treatment has been administered to different countries, except for Africa. Who
knew that even with epidemics occurring, people would still not receiving the same care?
We, as people, are all selfish. History usually does not matter unless it pertains to us in
some sort of way. Likewise, Ebola was not widely documented because it was solely in
Africa. until it wasnt. This resurgence of Ebola is important to me, other Americans, and the
world because as shown by the non-African cases, we all could contract the virus. Ebola is a big
deal in that we are all potentially in danger. The virus must now be stopped. Lets rewind back to

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six months ago. Could health officials have worked on creating a treatment then? Could these
charities have started collecting money for these treatments then? Could news networks have
started producing stories, articles, blogs, etc about Ebola then? The answer to all three of these
questions is yes. This epidemic has proved that unless a certain country is specifically involved,
not much will be done by that country. Now that Ebola has spread to the United States and other
countries, people are filled with trepidation and they suddenly care. Hopefully this sudden
curiosity/fear fosters some sort of aid in the eradication, or at least diminishment, of the virus.
Reactions to this virus vary by the amount of rationality present. From the articles I have
chosen, there are two main point of views: the Africans and the non-Africans. (i.e. Americans)
Liberians are angry with how quarantines have been set up in their respective towns. There have
been riots. The schools used for primary education have turned into dumping grounds for Ebola
patients. They feel as though the public health system has failed them. One woman stated in the
New York Times article that her people are not eating, that they are losing their health. They are,
however, being sprayed constantly by health authorities. Many of the African youth are left by
themselves, often resulting in death. The Los Angeles Times article provides backgrounds on
two children. One of whom died. They both were hopeless, and felt that not much was being
done to help all Ebola patients in Africa. In the BBC News article, African survivors of Ebola are
castigated for having contracted the virus. Some are spurned by their family members. Others are
constantly harassed. Those who have survived believe that there is a bunch of paranoia built
around the disease and that false rumors have led to irrational behavior. In the Washington Post
article, the general bias is that Africans are not given first priority, when the viruss origin is in
fact in Africa. In the Baltimore Sun article, the ignorance of Americans is truly exemplified.
Some have gone so far as to file lawsuits about border control. Other have gone to slander the

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president. All of this irrationality stems from fear. The BBC article and Baltimore Sun article are
similar in that both articles deal with how fear of Ebola has caused paranoia in Africa and
America.
During unit 1 of this seminar class, we discussed how history and events are portrayed.
Why is that some events, such as the Ebola epidemic, are not publically reported at first? Does it
take more powerful countries (i.e. America) to be involved for events to be widely publicized?
As discussed during the first few weeks of school, history is reported from the eyes of the most
powerful. Ebolas publicity did not become pervasive globally until the most powerful (i.e. the
Americans) became involved. Ebola precisely exemplifies the politics within history and in how
history is told. The trial treatments also demonstrate that the most powerful are the first priority.
Americans were first given the trial treatments. As I mentioned earlier, only four US Ebola cases
have been established. Liberia has had over 1,000 alone. West Africa accounts for more than
fifty percent of Ebola cases. Why have they not yet received treatment, even if these treatments
are not guaranteed to work? While my current event project is on how Ebola has affected
Africans and people from other countries, it also on how there are inconsistencies with how the
Ebola virus is being handled.

Sources for History section (First prargraph):

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Ap. "WHO: Number of Ebola Cases Passes 10,000." USA Today. Gannett, 25 Oct. 2014.
Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Soergel, Andrew. "Obama: Ebola a 'National Security Priority'" US News. U.S.News &
World Report, 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.
Waterman, Tara. "Brief General History of Ebola." Brief Ebola General History.
Stanford Univeristy, 1999. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.