Ethics in a Time of Ebola

Of all the calamities that a society can experience, war included, plague is probably the most frightening and socially disruptive. In the late 14th century the Black Death killed 30–50% of Europe’s population, leading to decades of depopulation and social upheaval. The 1918 influenza epidemic killed 50–100 million people, many of them young and healthy. In more recent times, AIDS, SARS and the H5N1 bird flu have created panic verging on national emergencies.

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