EBOLA: Just what we needed

As if we don’t have enough problems, now we are faced with a highly contagious deadly disease coming from a foreign region, and our government officials say we cannot stop people from that region from coming to the U.S. as, “that would impede efforts by aid workers to stop the spread of the deadly virus.” That has to be the most illogical statement I have ever heard.

Let me get this straight, if I wish to import a horse from anywhere in Africa (except Morocco), that horse would have to be quarantined for 60 days to make sure the horse does not carry African Horse Sickness (per USDA website). This quarantine is done to protect domestic equine livestock in the U.S. Conversely, anyone traveling from Africa that can find a legal way to get to the U.S. is good to go, even though they may come from a region that is being ravaged by infectious disease. Does this mean our government values U.S. horses more than it does U.S. citizens?

Currently the only protection we are afforded is the truthfulness of the traveler when asked if they are coming from an infected area and maybe a temperature scan that would not identify a person incubating the disease nor someone showing symptoms that may be suppressed by analgesics. Just food for thought!

J.D. GAINES

Coeur d’Alene