Ebola Fears Grow In Asia

As Ebola Spreads, Asia Senses Vulnerability -- New York Times

HONG KONG — With hundreds of advanced infection-control hospital rooms left over from the fight against SARS, and with some medical professionals suggesting that the Ebola virus was inherently fragile and unlikely to spread in places with modern medical facilities, many doctors in Asia paid little attention to the disease until very recently.

But that confidence — some say complacency — was punctured two weeks ago when two nurses in Dallas and another in Madrid fell ill while treating patients who had contracted the Ebola virus in West Africa. Governments and doctors around Asia are now much more worried that the region’s densely populated cities and towns could be vulnerable if infected people start flying here from Africa.

“What happened in the States took us by surprise,” said Louis Shih, the president of the Hong Kong Medical Association. “We were sort of feeling like, ‘Oh, don’t worry’ — the medical sector is now quite alarmed.”

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My Comment: These concerns are justified .... especially in places like India.