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Reaction to Ebola needs reevaluated

Remember Ebola? For a few weeks last year, the disease was the big story in the news. It has become an afterthought for many Americans, however.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., probably reinforced that attitude after returning from a trip to Liberia, one of the West African hot spots for Ebola. The epidemic has been reduced to “a few embers,” Coons said Sunday. U.S. efforts to fight the disease, including the 2,400 American troops sent to Liberia, should be reevaluated, the lawmaker said.

It is time to take another look at U.S. reaction to the Ebola outbreak – but not, as Coons seemed to be implying, to conclude the disease has been beaten.

As of Monday, the outbreak that began last summer had killed 8,153 people in West Africa, according to the World Health Organization. And, WHO officials added, Ebola is still an enormous threat.

It and other “exotic” diseases are exceedingly dangerous – and will only grow more so as travel throughout the world increases.

While U.S. officials may want to cut back on the emergency reaction to the initial Ebola outbreak, they need to take the long view that we and other developed countries need to do more to battle exotic diseases. Ebola may be last year’s headline – but it and related killers could well be headlines in the future, too.

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