WASHINGTON, November 17 (Sputnik) – Ebola ranks as one of the US public's top three health concerns, a Gallup poll revealed Monday.
"Ebola may not be the dominant news story it was a month ago, but it is still on the minds of Americans, 17 percent of whom cite it when asked to name the top health problem facing the US," Gallup wrote in an analysis of the results.
The polling group added that without continued incidents of Americans catching the virus, "this flare of concern will be temporary."
In response to the question to list the most urgent health problem that the US currently faces, 19 percent of respondents cited healthcare costs, while 18 percent mentioned accessibility. Obesity and cancer were both cited by ten percent of respondents.
Currently, ten people have been treated for Ebola in the United States, and two have died. On Monday, Dr. Martin Salia, a native of Sierra Leone and US resident, died from Ebola in a Nebraska hospital. Salia had been treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, where he contracted the disease. He was brought from Sierra Leone to Nebraska Medical Center in a critical condition on Saturday.
According to the latest World Health Organization data, 5,177 people have died from the current Ebola outbreak, with 14,413 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of the virus having been reported.
The current Ebola epidemic started in southern Guinea in December 2013 and soon spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. The latter two countries have recently been declared free of the virus.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected. Although there is no officially approved medication for the virus, several countries, including Russia, are currently working on trial vaccines.
