Ebola Is ‘Jerking Us Back To The 19th Century’
Erin Fuchs
BusinessInsider.com
Oct. 18, 2014
Americans being quarantined for Ebola experience a terror and isolation that recalls long-past epidemics like cholera, typhus, and the bubonic plague, an expert on the history of medicine told The New York Times.
“Ebola is jerking us back to the 19th century,” Dr. Howard Markel told The Times. “It’s terrible. It’s isolating. It’s scary. You’re not connecting with other human beings, and you are fearful of a microbiologic time bomb ticking inside you.”
Terrifyingly, life under quarantine for possible exposure to Ebola is becoming a new reality for many Americans. This week, officials in Texas, where an Ebola patient died, said 100 healthcare workers had agreed to a voluntary quarantine for 21 days. Meanwhile, the four people who shared an apartment with that man, Thomas Eric Duncan, have been forced to remain quarantined under armed guard.
The New York Times paints a devastating picture of what it’s like to be cooped up under such conditions. From The Times:
It has been particularly wrenching for Louise Troh, 54, Mr. Duncan’s girlfriend, who has had to mourn his passing in isolation. When her pastor, the Rev. George Mason, arrived to break the news of Mr. Duncan’s death and she collapsed to the floor in tears, he could not console her with a hug. On his regular visits to the house, he stands three feet away and signals his affection by crossing his arms in an X over his chest.
The Rest…HERE
