Ebola is a serious threat to our nation’s health. It kills between 50-80 percent of its hosts.

That means that well over a majority of those infected will die from this disease.

Sadly, Ebola is in our country, but thankfully has recorded cases in only a few states. Currently, only Texas and New York are experiencing the Ebola outbreak with Texas reporting two cases and New York only one.

According to the World Health Organization, Ebola symptoms include fever fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.

Over time the symptoms become worse and include vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and signs of impaired kidney and liver function, according to the WHO. Some people infected with Ebola even develop internal and external bleeding.

Ebola can spread through contact with blood and from contact with another person’s bodily fluids. It usually takes the virus two to 21 days to begin to show these symptoms and it is essential that our country take steps forward in trying to stop the spread of this deadly disease in the United States and throughout the world.

On Sept. 30 in Dallas, Thomas Duncan, a visitor from Liberia, became the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.

According to the New York Times, he arrived by plane on Sept. 20, became sick and went to a hospital for help on Sept. 25, but was sent home. Duncan was admitted to the hospital and died on Oct. 8 of Ebola.

According to the New York Times, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas turned Duncan away even after arriving in the emergency room with a 103 degree fever even though he said he was visiting from Africa.

Despite this knowledge, and the fact that he was displaying developing Ebola symptoms, hospital workers sent him home, putting the Dallas public  in danger of Ebola spreading throughout the population.

Before he was admitted into the hospital on Sept. 30, Duncan was reportedly vomiting violently in front of his apartment complex before seeking help again at the hospital.

According to USA Today, Duncan even lied about having contact with those infected with Ebola before coming to the United States.

This obvious flaw in the honor system needs to be resolved. Countries such as Australia have banned travel to Ebola infected nations. Why are we failing to follow suit?

This virus was brought to our country though flight and through interactions between healthy people and those who were infected. It is essential that we propose a travel ban in order to try to keep the virus from further spreading throughout this country.

This measure in common sense, not allowing people from nations that have Ebola into this country, could decrease the possibility of future transmissions.

The Obama Administration has only gone as far as increasing screenings at airports. There are no proposals for travel bans or even mandatory quarantine of those returning from nations affected by the current outbreak.

According to CNN, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California have now enacted mandatory 21-day quarantines for all healthcare workers returning from West Africa, where outbreaks have occurred. This is a step in the right direction, but why has the Center for Disease Control (CDC) remained silent and inactive when it comes to the Ebola crisis?  Why has the Ebola Czar not enacted this mandatory quarantine nationwide?

According to the New York Times, the White House has urged states to reverse the mandatory quarantine for 21 days to a home quarantine until workers feel they are healthy enough to go out. We have seen how that idea has failed when Kaci Hickox, a nurse who treated patients in West Africa, was quarantined in New Jersey.

When she was released, she returned to Maine and is now refusing to follow the isolation order from the state.

We cannot take these risks in allowing doctors and nurses coming back from West Africa to make the decision to quarantine themselves.

Hickox is that example of a defiant healthcare worker who may have tested negative for Ebola, but if she develops symptoms she put the people of Maine in danger of contracting the virus.

It is time to stop being selfish and think about what is in the best interests of our nation.

We should not allow for these mishaps and selfish acts to lead to a pandemic not seen since the Influenza outbreak in 1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide according to archives.gov.

Let’s avoid any possible future harm to our citizens and impose common sense initiatives like a travel bans and quarantines to safeguard our national security and our future economic success as a nation.