I’m sure we’ve all heard it: “Guys, I have ebola!” right after they sneezed, coughed or did anything to make it seem they’re sick and it’s starting to be too much.

The virus is close to us and people are still taking it as a joke. It’s not a joke. I’m pretty sure if it was one of your family members you wouldn’t be making fun of it.

Thousands of people have died from it in Africa.  Only one person, a visitor, from Liberia  has died of Ebola in the United States, but it has killed more than 4,800 in Africa and thousands more are currently infected.

Ebola cases have appeared all over the world, including Britain, Germany, Norway, U.S., France, and Spain. The only reason people in the United States now are freaking out is because of recent cases in Dallas and New York City.

Yes, we don’t need to be so strict about it and quarantine everything and everyone but there’s no need to be ridiculous.

Recently, a man on a commercial airliner thought it would be funny to say he had Ebola when he coughed and sneezed. Other passengers were not happy about it and wanted him to be escorted off the the plane by the police. They were scared and didn’t know what to do.

The pilots had to make an emergency landing in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Four men in full protective suits boarded the plane and removed him so he could be tested.

Too many people are treating the Ebola virus as a joke and it’s getting annoying. Plenty of kids here at the school joke about it saying: “Guys, I coughed I have Ebola!” or “Don’t come near me I sneezed, I have Ebola!”

 Let’s be more sensitive about this issue. There are people in our community who are nurses and health care workers who are being trained on how to properly handle patients with Ebola. Some of these people are relatives if not parents or siblings of Akins students. If this disease appears in Austin, these are the people who will be on the front lines preventing an outbreak in our communities.

 If you or a family member contracted Ebola, you wouldn’t be joking about it. You’d be scared for your life and those around you because it can be fatal.