A few years ago Ebola was one of the most important topics of discussion. The viral disease is one of the most dangerous ones, and the entire world was in a panic when it reached the United States. Nonetheless, it appears that America is ready to forget about it.
Despite this fact, Ebola remains a severe threat, and a new outbreak hit Congo recently. This is a sign that the disease continues to put people at risk and it is not wise to ignore it.
Finding the survivors
Right now, scientists in Congo are trying to discover people who survived Ebola back in 1976. That is because those persons still have antibodies against Ebola. Nonetheless, it is challenging to find these people since it involved a lot of traveling.
According to Anne Rimoin at the University of California, Los Angeles, 14 survivors were found. “It may have been a long time ago, but they are still living the consequences of what they’ve suffered. Most of them lost family members. And when they emerged from the hospital, having narrowly survived a terrifying near-death experience, they found their homes had been burned to the ground for fear of contamination. Everything they owned had disappeared,” she explains.
Lack of resources
While the scientists are doing their best, they lack the money. To make things worse, Trump has already asked Congress to rescind $252 million which were Ebola funds. This can put the United States at risk in case of another outbreak.
“If Congress accepts Trump’s proposal, USAID will have no funding for a response when the next crisis comes, and it will have to wait until Congress passes new funding, or diverts funds from some other, then-existing disaster response,” says Ron Klain, the former Ebola czar.
