Ebola is not a new virus. It has been an affliction on humanity for countless years, but not until recently has it hit American soil on such profound terms. The 2014 outbreak has become the largest on record with a total of 66 cases and 49 deaths reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, per the Center of Disease Control. American health workers sought to treat these victims and as a result had brought strains of the virus to US soil. This proximity has magnified the terrors of Ebola in ways not felt by citizens since the Polio epidemic of the early 1900s.

The adequacy of the United States’ response to the Ebola threat can be best understood in two overarching categories: timeliness and limitation. Response to the former was highly effective; within days there was protocol set and initiated to quarantine any potentially transmittable strains of the virus. Despite this seemingly-comprehensive contingency, its initiation out of the abstract worst-case scenario into its physical implementation proved disastrous. Thomas Eric Duncan brought the virus home to Dallas from a “hot zone” in Liberia. Health contractors were reluctant to clean his apartment. The ER at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital misdiagnosed  Duncan upon his arrival, as Dr. Joseph Howard Meier reportedly “looked him over, checked his vital signs and ordered tests. After a few hours, Meier diagnosed him with sinusitis, prescribed antibiotics and sent him home.”  This resulted in up to 100 additional people having made contact with Duncan after arriving in the United States.

These linear mishaps only reinforce the importance and difficulty in actively carrying out a contingency plan, especially in the case of a disease as dangerous and potent as Ebola. American College of Emergency Physicians spokesperson Dr. Ryan Stanton characterized the recognize and respond process to Ebola as “a needle in a hayfield we’re going to find.”

Despite these enormous boundaries the country must overcome to better handle the Ebola crisis, there is still reason to believe in ever-improving response measures since September and through this new year. President Obama has committed the United States to greater humanitarian efforts in the countries most affected by the outbreak; this will, of course, aid the US indirectly as well because it will better quarantine the virus before it can travel to domestic soil again. His assertiveness in laying way for more field hospitals and health workers has vindicated his intentions to make the outbreak a top national security threat. Ultimately, President Obama’s toughened policies on this outbreak have resulted in increased adequacy in this ongoing fight for humanitarian protection and against Ebola.

Referenced:

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/history/summaries.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-29483946

http://www.dallasnews.com/ebola/headlines/20141206-er-doctor-discusses-role-in-ebola-patients-initial-misdiagnosis.ece

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ebola-scare-prompts-us-hospitals-prepare-outbreak/story?id=26105274