U.S. falls short in effort to control Ebola: #tellusatoday

Ebola is a deadly virus with a high mortality rate. Health care professionals need to take proper precautions before, during and after treating an Ebola patient. Patients need to be treated in a safe manner, and the virus needs to be contained. Nothing else will do. Health care professionals have standards. They should be prepared and know how to handle any infectious disease without having to call someone.

Dallas is not a Third World city that lacks the means to treat and successfully contain Ebola. Medical professionals at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas have shown that they are incompetent. We should not tolerate the hospital's failure. National, Texas and city authorities should hold the hospital leadership fully accountable. Authorities need to investigate what's going on inside America's hospitals. There will not be a second chance for anyone if Ebola gets out of control due to incompetent health care professionals.

Ray Taft; Bacliff, Texas

As a lifelong Democrat, I think the selection of Ron Klain as Ebola czar is an odd choice for two reasons: First, he has no medical experience; second, he is a partisan Washington insider. I don't doubt Klain is smart enough for the position; however, his background is simply red meat for the GOP.

Over the course of the last two weeks, we have seen how slowly the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health care agencies reacted to the brewing Ebola crisis. More than likely, it is going to get worse before it gets better. That said, plenty of doctors on TV could fill the shoes of Ebola czar more effectively than the president's pick.

Denny Freidenrich; Laguna Beach, Calif.

Things are getting out of hand with the recent failures in the protocol to control Ebola in the USA. The time has come to ban all flights from West Africa to the U.S. This plague must be put down before it becomes a global outbreak. American medical technology cannot be allowed to be overwhelmed by the inept actions of feckless health care administrators and politicians through their continued advocacy for non-restricted travel from Ebola-affected regions.

Earl Beal; Terre Haute, Ind.

We asked our followers on Twitter what they thought of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's handling of Ebola cases. Comments are edited for clarity and grammar:

It is doing the best it can. People have to be accountable, too, and forthcoming!

— @GwenRiddick

Where's the plan? Who's in charge? We should have had an agressive plan, but all we do is react after the fact.

— @stybor3

Right now is not a time to apportion blame but to take drastic actions. If Nigeria can contain it, U.S. can do better!

— @rotimiobe

I am fed up with GOP members. They expect miracles from CDC yet fervently work to cut government funds.

— @guzmania

I am losing faith in the CDC, slowly but surely. It is not consistent.

— @Ebonafied

At Yale last week, there was a possible Ebola case. We weren't sure whether to panic or laugh.

— @TheresaSummer

One word to describe the CDC's response: incompetent.

— @SundevilSal

For more discussions, follow @USATOpinion or #tellusatoday on Twitter.