Ebola – cancel visits to Africa or is this an overreaction?

The news is full of reports of Ebola at the moment and we’re all aware of the risks and how dangerous and deadly this virus can be IF you catch it.

If…….

Ebola can only be spread by direct contact (through broken skin or through your eyes, nose, or mouth) with blood and body fluids (like urine, feces, saliva, vomit, sweat, and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola, or objects (like needles) that have been contaminated with the blood or body fluids of a person sick with Ebola.

So why are all the visits to some these beautiful places being cancelled?  What do you guys get up to on your cruises??  Am I missing something?

Princess have just announced that they have cancelled their stops in Togo, Benin, Senegal and Ghana and instead will visit Madeira, Angola, Malaga and Lisbon.

Other cruise lines to cancel port calls in West Africa include Seabourn, Fred Olsen, Holland America and Regent Seven Seas.

They;re also denying boarding to passengers that have visited any of these places in the 21 days leading up the their cruise.

Is this an overreaction?  Ebola is spread in the same way as AIDS but no one has ever had an issue with travelling to South Africa – one of the countries with the highest percentage of AIDS carriers in the world (17.3% of 15-49 year olds).

How about the Bahamas? 2.8% of 15 to 49 year olds there also carry AIDS but it’s one of the most visiting cruise destinations in the world.

There are a lot more people in these countries carrying AIDS than there are Ebola. What am I missing?

What are your thoughts? Is this being blown out of proportion? Are we all being scare-mongered? Is that even a word?

Enlighten me 🙂

Lx