My senior year of high school, my AP Bio teacher (who is super awesome!!!) assigned us Richard Preston's The Hot Zone. It is a nonfictional account about the first major outbreak of Ebola that made its way to the US shore. The details and personal accounts in the book gave me a firm understanding about the seriousness of this particular disease. The way the virus kills (in some cases the patient 'bleeds out') horrified me and made me happy that the spread of the virus was halted before an epidemic broke out in the US.
I went through my life unconcerned with Ebola until recently when the news headlines exploded with reports about the serious resurgence of the virus. Every news article made me more anxious but the fact that Doctors Without Borders and WHO were fighting back on the front calmed me a bit. Then I saw the headline. The first US case was reported in Dallas, Texas. Only four hours away from where my parents and little brother are currently living. It is downright terrifying! Now the reports suspect that there may be 100 or so additional people that could have been affected by the man in Dallas. So that is why I find this ignorance about Ebola on social media so alarming. I'm not saying that people should start wearing hazmat suits or anything. All I am saying is to read books like The Hot Zone or research a bit about the virus before making your senseless memes. This is not the common flu. It is a serious issue that everyone needs to think about.
Stay safe and healthy my friends.
Thanks!