Mediated #2

Parents Fearing Ebola Remove Children From School

This article I found through MSN and it came from the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  A letter was sent out to parents whose children attend L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary School, Tasby Middle School, Dan D. Rogers Elementary School, and Conrad High School with another elementary school being watched that connects to Tasby Middle School. Dallas Superintendent Mike Miles found out on Wednesday that five children that attend four of the schools came into contact with Thomas Eric Duncan.

Duncan is from Liberia visiting relatives and friends in the U.S. He was checked at the airport for any symptoms of Ebola, but since it can take up to three weeks for any symptoms to present themselves he was considered healthy to travel. He went to a Dallas hospital last Friday, September 26, two days after he had started experiencing the first sign of Ebola symptoms. Friday, he had a fever and severe abdominal pain. The hospital sent him home with antibiotics and pain medication instead of admitting him because "he was not exhibiting symptoms consistent with keeping him. If the person is not exhibiting the symptoms there would be know reason to keep them."  Duncan had just come from Liberia and had symptoms of the first signs of Ebola. I feel like the hospital made a huge mistake not admitting him on Friday. When Duncan went back to the hospital two days later on Sunday the 28th, the hospital then admitted him. 

That is two days more that the children of his girlfriend were exposed to him. The school district and Texas State officials are telling parents to send their kids to school because the "children exposed were not showing any symptoms and don't believe it could have been spread."  That is what the airport officials that let Duncan on the airplane to the U.S. had believed as well. And now we have the first case of Ebola in America. Symptoms of Ebola can begin to present themselves anywhere between 3-21 days of being exposed. Anybody traveling to America that is coming from one of the countries where the virus is most prevalent should not be allowed to travel until they have been observed for the full 21 days. Duncan came into contact with at least 12-18 people during the time he was presenting symptoms. If even one of those people is infected, then who knows how many more they will infect.

The article talks about how the gov't is going to control the disease, but I am not sure if that is possible now. When I read the title I thought 'a headline like that can't reassure anyone', and thought the article would take the stance that Americans should be worried about an Ebola outbreak, and the article would be fallacious. Then as I finished reading the entire article it turned out to be cogent. It told both sides of the story, was reasonable, and had relevant information. The author of the article didn't take either side of the scared parents or the State Officials. It only presented the facts and the author Bill Hanna didn't give his own opinion. Therefore, this article is cogent.