Ebola is feeding on the fears of those who don’t understand how it is spread. Because of this hysteria, many Americans are not aware that the only way to get infected is by direct human contact of bodily fluid of those infected- through broken skin and mucous membrane- such as blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids, and with surface materials that contain those fluids.

But with people not understanding this, you have cases of them going to hospitals or other public places, claiming that they have the symptoms to scare the ones around them. There are also jokes about the disease, where even a simple cough or sneeze means you suddenly have Ebola.

“It’s kind of annoying,” said Melissa Wills, Sophomore. “All you hear is that someone has Ebola when they obviously don’t.”

Some are even going as far as making halloween costumes that look like Hazmat suits, that are complete with a logo and mask.

Ebola is a serious virus with severe after symptoms. It’s nothing to joke about, but also something to not stress over. There are few cases of Ebola, but many other cases of life threatening diseases that we should pay more attention to.

But if you are part of the Ebola Hysteria, the best way to prevent getting the virus is to not come in close contact, where you can share bodily fluid, with the infected.