Hopefully by now you’re aware of Thomas Duncan, the man who flew from Liberia to Texas and brought with him the first case of Ebola in the United States. The introduction of this deadly disease to the US was inevitable, as the disease in Africa is widespread and doing substantial damage to the population in the affected countries.
While everyone seems to be focusing on the guy in Texas, what you really need to focus on is the two planes he was on between Texas and Liberia, the hospital waiting room he sat in, and all the people he contacted between coming home and being diagnosed. The hospital even turned him away once, misdiagnosing him with the flu!
While a patient is only contagious while showing symptoms, the person can be showing symptoms and every thing they touch after sneezing or using the restroom can now be a source of infection up to a few minutes after they leave the area. This means someone can go about their day thinking they have the flu and infect hundreds of people in a single day in a busy city.
Keep Calm and Carry On
This overused saying is from posters that were never used during the Blitzkrieg in WWII. They were to be put up throughout London to assure residents and to keep things moving along. This is what the CDC and Dept. of Homeland Security are, for the most part, telling us today.
We are assured that Ebola is difficult to transmit and that we have amazing facilities to treat anyone that comes down with the deadly disease, and while this is true when 1-2 people have it, what happens when 100 or 1,000 people have it? Those facilities could fill up quickly.
As we’ve seen countless times before, we the people are only told about disasters and major issues after there is no chance to contain them. When things get so big that it will come out anyway is the only time government agencies talk. Knowing this, it seems like an outbreak is more a matter of when than a matter of if.
The Likelihood of an Ebola Outbreak in the US
So we’re all doomed, right? Well, I wouldn’t start wearing my hazmat suit to work just yet. Ebola is definitely a major worldwide concern that must be taken seriously, but for the time being there seems to be no immediate threat to the US from a major outbreak.
The United States is far better at containing outbreaks of disease and especially after Mr. Duncan came home with the disease, the CDC and other health agencies are on high alert. Hospitals of any merit will be asking anyone coming in with flu-like symptoms if they or anyone near them traveled to African countries lately and with any hope they will find anyone infected.
There will almost certainly be more cases of Ebola found in the United States, but these will most likely prove to be isolated cases that will be treated safely. Even though this is most likely what will happen, it’s still a perfect example of why you must be prepared. If Ebola were to become a major issue in the US, it’ll already be too late.
Prepping for an Ebola Outbreak
Prepping for an Ebola outbreak in the US is nearly identical to any other SHTF situation and should be treated as such. In the case that your city was to have an outbreak, you would want to bug in and wait it out. Since Ebola doesn’t infect via air transmission, you actually have to touch bodily fluids to become infected. This means bugging in for up to a month is the best solution. By quarantining yourself and your family from the world, you can wait out any government-imposed quarantine and make sure you and your family stay safe.
Bugging out isn’t an option in this case, as you want to not only keep yourself safe, but the world around you, too. If a major outbreak were to happen around you, it’s your duty to not possibly spread the disease by leaving the quarantine area. Your best bet is to wait it out and stay safe in your home. By practicing OpSec and keeping a low profile you should remain completely safe and disease free.
What to Prep
First, keep enough food and water for 30 days for each family member, more if space and finances allow for it. This will help you wait out any imposed quarantine and even self-imposed ones, too.
You should also have a few boxes of nitrile gloves and masks with at least an N95 rating for the off chance you have to venture outdoors.
Keep a supply of any medicines you or your family use, ideally enough for 30 days. This will keep you safe and in your house, away from places like pharmacies that will more than likely be targets for looting and violence.
Bleach and spray bottles are ideal for outbreaks, as a 20% bleach solution is perfect for killing Ebola on contact and can be used for spraying on soles of shoes and possibly contaminated surfaces. This should never be used on skin.
Overall, prep as you should be prepping, with the idea that bugging in will most likely be your only option. Always have a plan B, but bugging in will be your best solution. Will an Ebola outbreak happen in the US? Most likely not, but prepping is the idea of wishing for the best and planning for the worst, which this is the definition of doing.