--- title: Watch a Science Cop Take On the Ebola Fear Mongers description: The first appearance of an Ebola case in the United States does not mean we're headed for an epidemic canonical: https://time.com/3491579/science-cop-ebola-fear-mongers/ author: Michael Lester article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-13T11:00:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:01:50.114Z article:section: Health og:title: Watch a Science Cop Take On the Ebola Fear Mongers og:description: The first appearance of an Ebola case in the United States does not mean we're headed for an epidemic og:url: https://time.com/3491579/science-cop-ebola-fear-mongers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt856b6025a2d9fafb/69876025a988cab1fb6a9be0/ep4-tout.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 640 og:image:height: 360 og:image:alt: Science Cop - fear mongers og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch a Science Cop Take On the Ebola Fear Mongers twitter:description: The first appearance of an Ebola case in the United States does not mean we're headed for an epidemic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt856b6025a2d9fafb/69876025a988cab1fb6a9be0/ep4-tout.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch a Science Cop Take on the Ebola Fear Mongers > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=872c98db-4530-4271-86cb-e49ed989fda6&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Science Cop: Ebola Fear Mongers [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: Ebola Fear Mongers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fwl31d5e.m3u8) (2:30)  _Published 2014-10-10. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the media figures stirring up panic in the aftermath of the ebola outbreak._ by [Michael Lester](https://time.com/author/michael-lester/) and [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/) Oct 13, 2014 11:00 AM UTC by [Michael Lester](https://time.com/author/michael-lester/) and [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/) Oct 13, 2014 11:00 AM UTC Yes, Ebola has close to a 50% death rate; and yes that death is a very ugly, very bloody one. But the first appearance of a case in the United States does not mean we’re headed for an epidemic anything like the one that is causing so much suffering in West Africa. The disease is not easy to catch and incubates for a relatively short time—which means that no one spends months or years as a symptom-free carrier. And proper isolation facilities in modern hospitals mean that if a person does fall ill here, the virus can be contained. But none of that is what you’ll hear from the fear mongers, who warn that a plague is among us and we must seal our borders to save ourselves from doom. A Science Cop tells you what you need to know. ## Transcript Ebola in America . >> Out of control . >> Killer disease >> Spreading fast >> Ebola >> On the backs of ISIS >> There's a lot of panic >> Chilling, deadly, dangerous >> Scarier by the moment >> Shut down the flights, secure the borders . >> By now you've heard about Americas Ebola crisis, the disease has landed on our shores and a few blown epidemic is on the way. That's scary stuff, but almost none of it is true. And here's why. [ MUSIC ] There's no denying that Ebola is a terrifying disease. The current outbreak has struck about 7, 500 people in Africa so far. And almost half have died. The nature of that death with organs breaking down and bleeding out is one of the worst kinds of suffering imaginable. But put simply Ebola is not a easy virus to contract, while a disease like flu can be spread by shaking hands with someone who is infected, Ebola is spread by direct contact with bodily fluid such as the blood of vomit of someone who is infected. And symptomatic. A victim who was infected but not yet showing symptoms will typically not transmit the disease. But you won't hear that from the fear mongers, some of whom support clamping down on travel to and from the affected areas in Africa, which is exactly the wrong thing to do. According to the centers for disease control that would make it harder to get doctors and medical supplies back and fourth perhaps crippling efforts to wipe out the disease at its source and while cable news speculates that a terrorist infected with Ebola could board mass transit and spread the disease to everyone on board that could happen only if all of the passengers sat patiently. While the terrorist went from one to another, and bled or vomited on each, with their full cooperation. So, should we be afraid of Ebola? Of course. It's a very lethal and very ugly disease. But is America in any immediate danger? [ MUSIC ] No. Our real job is to care for the people who were infected, sensibly protect those who aren't, and lend our considerable resources to battling the disease in Africa, where people have no time for this silly luxury of fear mongers [ UNKNOWN ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3491579/science-cop-ebola-fear-mongers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3491579/science-cop-ebola-fear-mongers/"},"headline":"Watch a Science Cop Take on the Ebola Fear Mongers","datePublished":"2014-10-13T11:00:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T09:01:50.114Z","description":"You'd be crazy not to be afraid of Ebola—but it's equally crazy to be too afraid.","url":"https://time.com/3491579/science-cop-ebola-fear-mongers/","keywords":["ebola"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt856b6025a2d9fafb/69876025a988cab1fb6a9be0/ep4-tout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michael Lester","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/michael-lester/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeffrey Kluger","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt856b6025a2d9fafb/69876025a988cab1fb6a9be0/ep4-tout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Science Cop - fear mongers","caption":"Science Cop - Ebola Fear Mongers","creditText":"Getty (2 images)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3491579/science-cop-ebola-fear-mongers/","name":"Watch a Science Cop Take on the Ebola Fear Mongers"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Science Cop: Ebola Fear Mongers","description":"TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the media figures stirring up panic in the aftermath of the ebola outbreak.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Fwl31d5e/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-10-10T20:03:51.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fwl31d5e.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3491579/science-cop-ebola-fear-mongers/","duration":"PT2M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3491579/science-cop-ebola-fear-mongers/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```