NEW YORK, October 6 (RIA Novosti) – While the most Americans are confident that the US government can handle the first confirmed Ebola case in the country, about one third of respondents to a new survey are concerned about being exposed to the deadly virus.
A Pew Research Center survey of 1,007 adults, carried out between October 2-5, found that 11 percent of Americans are "very worried" about exposure to Ebola, while another 21 percent are "somewhat worried."
Some 20 per cent of Americans have a "great deal" of confidence in the government preventing a major outbreak in the United States, while another 38 percent have a "fair amount" of confidence, it found.
"As the Ebola outbreak in Africa continues, and two patients receive treatment in the US, most Americans have at least a fair amount of confidence in the government's ability to prevent a major outbreak of Ebola in the US," the group said in a statement on Monday.
"In addition, relatively few are concerned that they or a family member will be exposed to the virus."
Liberia national Thomas Duncan was diagnosed with the virus in Dallas, Texas, on September 30 after traveling from his homeland to visit relatives in the US. Duncan, a courier driver, is in a critical condition in hospital.
Some 3,400 people have died in the worst Ebola outbreak in history and the first to have occurred in West Africa. It began in southern Guinea in February and spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
