Exactly a year ago, America was gripped by a panic it had never known: “Fearbola.” As the deadly Ebola virus snaked through West Africa, reaching epidemic proportions for the first time and killing thousands, Americans were infected with a violent worry about an outbreak on our shores — even though an Ebola flare-up was highly unlikely in the developed health systems of the US.

The greatest problem with Fearbola was that it diverted the discussion away from something that would actually control the spread of deadly diseases in West Africa and beyond: strengthening health systems.

[Read the full story at Vox]