Mental Health

1 in 5 Americans Anxious About Contracting Ebola

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Oct 09, 2014 04:25 PM EDT

One in five Americans are worried about contracting the Ebola virus, according to a new poll.

The latest Gallup Poll revealed that 22 percent of Americans say they are concerned about contracting Ebola. Further analysis show that the proportion of American adults worried about getting Ebola matches or exceeds the proportion of those who were worried about getting the significantly more infectious H1N1 virus in 2009.  Currently, only six Americans are known to have contracted Ebola since it began.

The poll was conducted Oct. 4-5. Researchers noted that the latest statistics are based on information collected after the first diagnosed case of Ebola in the US, and before the first known case of a person contracting Ebola outside of Africa in the current outbreak.

However, most Americans are not worried about Ebola and don't believe that they or their relatives will contract the Ebola virus.  The Gallup survey reveals that 34 percent of Americans believe that contracting Ebola is "not too likely" and 49 percent believe it's "not likely at all".  Only four percent and 10 percent of Americans believe that it is very likely they are very or somewhat likely to contract the African virus.

However, 65 percent of Americans believe that there will be a minor outbreak. Nine percent of Americans believe that Ebola will lead to a major outbreak, and another nine percent believe that the virus will lead to national crisis. Only 12 percent of Americans believe that Ebola will not harm the US, according to Gallup.

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