I have to say this. I remember watching tv in the early 1980s, and news of the herpes virus emerged.
This virus was the one that Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, referred to as herpes-not-so-simplex, and it fueled the fear of sexually active heterosexuals and became the center of public discussions about sexuality. If memory serves me right, there were injunctions from the conservative elements of American society about the immorality of how some people (swingers) conducted themselves and how this should be a wakeup call.
And then the noise about herpes was engulfed by this new found virus that was killing gay men in San Francisco and Haitians (this was the misinformation at the time).
Yes, we call this bug HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is deadly and worked quickly. The men who succumbed had all sorts of sicknesses before they died, including Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer that was visible on the skin. In addition to the blame game, hysteria ensued. Think I'm making this up? Watch this: http://youtu.be/5oWu7FR-hZ0. The public openly questioned whether young people with this disease should be in school. Should people with HIV be allowed in swimming pools? Can we get it off of toilet seats? What about airplanes? Should we avoid gay people? Should we ban Haitians from coming in the U.S.?
Yes, we're almost thirty (30?) years into the AIDS epidemic, so it's hard to imagine the panic that struck the public about this. But it's true. No, kissing someone cannot transmit HIV. No, someone sneezing on you cannot transmit HIV. No, you can't get it from a toilet seat, and on and on. It's actually quite difficult to become infected by it. You have to have exchange body fluids with an infected person. There are only two ways to do that. Unprotected sex and blood transfusions. But no matter, let the hysteria proceed apace! It took years to diffuse it (and arguably, it's still a factor.).
And now we have this handsome virus, one ebola. And it reminds me of the HIV panic. Can we fly on airplanes if someone has it? What if someone sneezes? Are they ever asymptomatic? Should we prevent children who go to school with people known to know people with ebola be allowed to attend school? Yes, the same questions. And it's still hard to get. You have to come in contact with someone's bodily fluids. Chances are, if you are not a health care provider, you will not get it. If you haven't had vomit and diarrhea spilled on you, you are not going to get it. If you do not have sex with someone who has ebola, you will not get it. If you don't believe me, consult the CDC and the WHO!
But I see that science is not going to stop the fears (indeed, I had to give my partner an earful in return for her earful of fear mongering!). I have this nagging thought though. I wonder if the feelings about these diseases are more about the people who are associated with them and not about the disease itself. But that is just conjecture. Just sayin'.
