Who would have thought that the 1995 movie Outbreak might have some future ties to the real world? While the recent outbreak is Ebola instead of Motaba, the ideas behind it are eerily similar.
While this was only a movie, the reality is that there is a fairly large outbreak of Ebola in West Africa right now that has killed nearly 2,000 people in the area in 2014 alone. So what does this have to do with prepping? Well hopefully nothing at all, but telling a prepper to not worry about something is like telling a cat to come when called: it might happen but only after a hell of a lot of work.
Is An Outbreak Possible?
This is the million-dollar question that everyone is worrying about. Truth be told, there is very little chance that we would ever experience an outbreak in the United States for a few reasons. First, the disease is centralized in West Africa and has been for the entire outbreak as well as most previous ones. Second, the United States has incredibly advanced systems for disease control and Ebola treatment, which is why two patients with the hemorrhagic disease were recently flown back to the US for treatment.
Finally, the biggest reason an outbreak here is unlikely has to do with how the disease itself works. Unlike the common cold or the flu, Ebola is transmitted via contact with skin or bodily fluids. This means that you can’t get Ebola from air, food, or water. Also, if a person is not experiencing symptoms at the moment, he or she is also not contagious. Most people spread the disease by cleaning up after those who are sick and by burying deceased that have the disease.
While even with all this on our side, an outbreak is not impossible. All it would take is for someone to fly from an infected area back to the United States and start showing symptoms after they return without seeing a doctor. In this situation the person could easily spread the disease to a small community, which is where it would most likely stop as the CDC got involved and enacted quarantine to stop the spread and try to treat those affected.
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What If An Ebola Outbreak Happens Anyway?
While highly unlikely, an Ebola outbreak in the United States could happen under the proper circumstances. For example, small town hospitals and doctors that don’t know how to look for the disease could not enact proper quarantine procedures, which could help the spread of the disease.
A second scenario is much more nefarious but possible. A terrorist group could infect 20 or more “suicide bombers” with the disease and wait until they are fully showing signs, then set each loose in a different city. This type of biological warfare is completely plausible and would be very damaging.
If an outbreak did happen, the CDC would quarantine the area immediately. This sealing of the borders would be indiscriminate between sick and not sick, meaning if you were in the area and not sick, you would still be stuck. While aid would most likely be provided, if there was widespread outbreaks or other disasters at the time, food and supplies would be extremely limited. Along with this, would you really want to leave your house to go get them?
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This is where a bug-in plan is important. In this situation it’s best to bug-in and basically seal yourself off from the outside world until it can get things right again. If you hear about cases near you that are similar to Ebola you could always preemptively act and bug out to the middle of nowhere, but it’s not always that easy. At least a month’s worth of food and water could help you weather an outbreak of Ebola in your area, but ideally 4-6 months of food and water is ideal.
While banking collapse, super volcanoes, and terrorist attacks are very real disasters that are waiting to happen, disease outbreak should not be forgotten about, either.