Ebola’s Dangerous Cousins: Beware the Neglected Filoviruses

Author:
Alex Berezow

Military conventional wisdom, in addition to ACSH President (and former Army officer) Hank Campbell, likes to remind us, “Governments are always fighting the last war.” They have a good point. Fifteen years after 9/11, we still ban non-ticketed passengers from entering airport terminals. Ten years after a failed attack in 2006, we cannot bring more than 3.4 oz of liquids onto an airplane, a policy that has resulted in TSA confiscating gigantic piles of 4-oz cups of applesauce. We continue to remove our shoes 15 years after the Shoe Bomber, but thankfully the Underwear Bomber didn’t provoke a similar “remove your skivvies” policy.

Similar to military strategy and national security, our public health system tends to fixate on the “last war.” Our approach, particularly when it comes to infectious disease, is too often reactionary rather than proactive. Thus, instead of focusing most of our efforts on what could be coming next, we are dumping limited resources on battles already fought.

Consider Ebola. This disease received very little attention from researchers, politicians, and the American public for most of its history because it killed poor people in Africa. But, when it creeped its way into Europe and the U.S. in 2014, an anxious society mobilized for war. All of a sudden, a relatively obscure disease was making front page news, and government dollars soon followed.

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