According to Forbes magazine, at least 5,000 Americans contacted healthcare
providers fearful they had contracted Ebola after the media reported that someone
with Ebola had entered the United States. All 5,000 cases turned out to be
false alarms. In fact, despite all the hype about Ebola generated by the media
and government officials, as of this writing there has only been one preliminarily
identified case of someone contracting Ebola within the United States.
Ebola is a dangerous disease, but it is very difficult to contract. Ebola
spreads via direct contact with the virus. This usually occurs though contact
with bodily fluids. While the Ebola virus may remain on dry surfaces for several
hours, it can be destroyed by common disinfectants. So common-sense precautions
should be able to prevent Ebola from spreading.
It is no coincidence that many of those countries suffering from mass Ebola
outbreaks have also suffered from the plagues of dictatorship and war. The
devastation wrought by years of war has made it impossible for these countries
to develop modern healthcare infrastructure. For example, the 14-year civil
war in Liberia left that country with almost no trained doctors. Those who
could leave the war-torn country were quick to depart. Sadly, American foreign
aid props up dictators and encourages militarism in these countries.
President Obama's response to the Ebola crisis has been to send 3,000 troops
to West African countries to help with treatment and containment. Obama did
not bother to seek congressional authorization for this overseas military deployment.
Nor did he bother to tell the American people how long the mission would last,
how much it would cost, or what section of the Constitution authorizes him
to send US troops on "humanitarian" missions.
The people of Liberia and other countries would be better off if the US government
left them alone. Leave it to private citizens to invest in African business
and trade with the African people. Private investment and trade would help
these countries develop thriving free-market economies capable of sustaining
a modern healthcare infrastructure.
Legitimate concerns about protecting airline passengers from those with Ebola
or other infectious diseases can best be addressed by returning responsibility
for passenger safety to the airlines. After all, private airlines have a greater
incentive than does government to protect their passengers from contagious
diseases. They can do so while providing a safe means of travel for those seeking
medical treatment in the United States. This would remove the incentive to
lie about exposure to the virus among those seeking to come here for treatment.
Ebola patients in the US have received permission from the Food and Drug Administration
to use "unapproved" drugs. This is a positive development. But why should those
suffering from potentially lethal diseases have to seek special permission
from federal bureaucrats to use treatments their physicians think might help?
And does anyone doubt that the FDA's cumbersome approval process has slowed
down the development of treatments for Ebola?
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company has successfully contained the spread of
Ebola among 80,000 people living in Harbel, the Liberian town housing employees
of Firestone's Liberian plant and their families. In March, after the wife
of a Firestone employee developed Ebola symptoms, Firestone constructed its
own treatment center and implemented a program of quarantine and treatment.
Firestone has successfully kept the Ebola virus from spreading among its employees.
As of this writing, there are only three Ebola patients at Firestone's treatment
facility.
Firestone's success in containing Ebola shows that, far from justifying new
state action, the Ebola crises demonstrates that individuals acting in the
free market can do a better job of containing Ebola than can governments. The
Ebola crisis is also another example of how US foreign aid harms the very people
we are claiming to help. Limiting government at home and abroad is the best
way to protect health and freedom.
