Ebola. I totally understand the hype. In the span of several months almost 9,000 people have been infected with the disease, and only about half have survived. This is the largest outbreak of the virus, and there is no cure.
While this epidemic is serious, the percentage of people infected with Ebola is miniscule compared to the world’s population, and only three confirmed cases have been found in the U.S.
The media has continued to push Ebola through our minds, scaring us into thinking anybody who so much as coughs has this virus. I would assume most people are scared because there is no cure.
But it’s funny how people are going hard over Ebola, yet they take few precautions when it comes to more prevalent diseases in the U.S., like HIV, diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
According to the AIDS.gov website, more than 1.1 million people have been diagnosed with HIV­ — a non-curable virus, most commonly spread through unprotected sex. One in six people with the infection is unaware of their infection and are able to pass the virus to others and about one in four new HIV cases are between the ages of 13 and 24.
Why is this relevant to you? College is home to random hookups. And while many may not see the harm in one-night stands, Baton Rouge and New Orleans are two of this hardest hit cites when it comes to HIV/AIDS.
The problem is people are so quick to have sex with a random person, they forget they could be putting themselves in harm’s way. People treat HIV as a disease that they could never possibly contract and fail to get tested or be cautious. The LSU Health Center offers free STI testing for LSU students.
“It’s important to get tested regularly and know who you’re dealing with,” said Cortney Bruno, disease intervention specialist for the East Baton Rouge Parish Health Unit. “HIV attacks the cells in your body that fight off infection and it affects everyone differently. The most common symptom is having no symptom at all, so without getting tested and catching it early, it’ll be harder to maintain the disease.”
No one is invincible, and anybody can get HIV. If more people treated HIV like Ebola, we might not see any more cases for a while.
HIV isn’t the only disease that should recieve as much publicity as Ebola. According to the CDC website, 29.1 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes and 26.6 million with heart disease. More than one-third of American adults are obese. Diabetes, heart disease and obesity can easily be prevented or improved with a healthy diet and exercise.
When it comes to health, Americans should ask themselves what they should be worried about.
Americans have become complacent with these preventable diseases and treat them as a part of everyday life. I see more commercials for prescription drugs and processed junk food than I do commercials spreading awareness about the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
We tend to pick and choose what is important in our lives. We obviously don’t want to catch Ebola. But living life with HIV, obesity, heart disease, diabetes or any other preventable disease is just as bad. We may not die instantly from them, but it comes with long-term health problems and a ton of medical bills. No one wants to be old and have to take 10 pills a day or not be physically able to do what they want.
Even though we don’t regularly associate the word epidemic with obesity, heart disease, diabetes or AIDS, these diseases combined have killed hundreds of thousands of people — much more than the 4,000 people a year killed by Ebola.
What makes it worse is these diseases are preventable.
Taylor Simien is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Lafayette. You can reach her on Twitter @Tsimien_TDR.