As anyone with a newspaper, TV, or computer knows, an Ebola outbreak in Western Africa has killed thousands of people. 70% of people who catch the illness will die, and it is fairly contagious, especially to the doctors and nurses who risk their lives treating the victims and tending to the dead bodies.
Currently, the entirety of the US has a few cases in Texas - though they appear to be heavily isolated for now. In Europe, on the other hand, the threat of Ebola is much greater. Since Europe is such a relatively small place and it's so easy to travel from one country to another, Ebola is a viable concern. Multiple cases have broken out in Madrid, Spain. Recently, it was announced that London airports and international train stations will begin screening all passengers for Ebola. The screenings will consist of passport checks and basic questions about travel history. For most people, it should be mild and easy to get through. In fact, the UK offers no direct travel to and from the impacted areas of Africa so the heaviest questioning will probably stem from people traveling to London from Paris or Brussels (places that do still offer direct travel to and from infected areas of Africa).
In London, Ebola is the front page of every newspaper and news website. It's not just foreign news; it's a genuine, persisting threat that they need to take preventative measures against. In speaking with some local Londoners, it seems like a similar (though less extreme) approach was taken a few years ago when swine flu was a present threat. In Europe, swine flu was predicted to wreck havoc. Yet in the United States, we didn't really give it much thought. From talking with my parents back home, it seems like the same mindset is present in regards to Ebola. People are aware of it in the United States, and some are even concerned, but most people relegate it to be a foreign problem.
In London, however, people are much more careful. You don't hear people making jokes about Ebola, like Americans did in regards to swine flu. No one thinks it's funny. In fact, most people are wary; if the virus mutates and becomes airborne, Europe will be in serious trouble. Not to mention that Spain is close enough where some of my classmates actually have friends or family living in Madrid and who are genuinely concerned for their safety.
So how is this impacting me and my experience? I've become much more aware of how world events impact Europe differently than they do the United States. A foreign threat in the US is bad, but (generally) not the end of the world. A foreign threat in Europe, however, has a much great impact because everything is so much closer together. In the states, the world news section of the newspaper is shorter than the sports section, and it's buried in the middle of the paper. In London, however, world news is often featured prominently because it can have such a large impact on home affairs.
