By Rakhi Kundra’17, Staff Writer

Over the last few months, more than 6,574 people have been infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal, and Nigeria. The Ebola virus is one of the most infectious and deadly diseases in the world, and there is no known cure.  It originated in 1976, during an outbreak in what is now The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the current Ebola outbreak is the largest and most severe outbreak that has ever occurred. As of September 23, 2014, there have been an estimated number of 3091 deaths according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The World Health Organization (WHO), believes the outbreak will last for another 12-18 months.

Although Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the other affected countries are doing everything in their power to contain the outbreak, the disease is spreading faster than all attempts to keep up with it due to a lack of resources and infrastructure. Before the outbreak, Liberia, the country most affected by Ebola, had just 50 doctors working in public health facilities for a population of 4.3 million people.  Now, in the midst of the outbreak, there are an estimated number of 1-2 doctors per 100,000 people. There is also a lack of sanitary medical supplies, treatment centers, ambulances, and sanitized burial teams. The Academy’s reaction to the rapid spread concludes similarly. Ms. Fischer, faculty advisor for the Community Service Council and Humanities teacher, stated, “the outbreak is somewhat a representation of the poor health care systems in West Africa”.

The United States will be sending equipment and medical supplies and will be creating isolation units for health workers that have been arriving from all over the world to help fight this disease. Recently, however, the US has had its own problem to deal with because of a case of Ebola at home. Eric Duncan from Dallas, Texas, died of the disease on Wednesday, October 8th, having been exposed to the virus on his recent trip to Liberia. Duncan did not start showing symptoms until five days until after he had returned. And because Duncan did not go to the hospital until four days after he began showing initial symptoms, there could be as many as 100 more people who might have been exposed to the disease.

Students at Newark Academy are fearful of the consequences of such an exposure. Alexander “Perrin” Clark ’15, leader of the Newark Academy Think Tank, a current events discussion group, revealed that after debate from students of all ages, the group had concluded that the “FAA should block all flights into Liberia”. Additionally, Clark stated that students believe that the United States should approach the UN about declaring an “international no fly zone” over Liberia because even though students “don’t like the UN” they are the “only option.” The Think Tank’s decision, if implemented, would make it impossible for the US to provide aid to countries much more affected by the virus while decreasing the risk of the virus spreading to the US.

When asked about the possibility of a similar incident occurring near Newark Academy, Nurse Neary, healthcare professional for the student body at Newark Academy, stated that the school would “follow the recommendations from the CDC, and take all precautions.” For big infections, everyone would be isolated for “21 days” and for smaller ones, “the school would shut down, disinfect everything, and clean everything out.” However unlikely a spread of the Ebola virus to the US is, students and faculty remain aware of the possibility, and the students are willing to do anything to prevent the risk of that spread.