Ebola, Staten Island Emergency Doctor, Ishmael Griffin Shares information

Ebola, Staten Island Emergency Doctor, Ishmael Griffin Shares information.

The largest Liberian community outside Monrovia is in Staten Island, New York.

Concerns about Ebola have forced many in the community to cancel their trips back home, but some have left the US before the outbreak and their return sparks fear about the risk of an outbreak in New York.

Among the biggest concerns is whether the outbreak could spread to the United States after two American missionaries contracted Ebola in Liberia.

According to an infectious disease specialist with Staten Island University Hospital, it is highly unlikely.

"We aren't at risk of having an Ebola epidemic in America," said Dr. Ambreen Khalil. "Eighty to 90 percent of people die from Ebola, but it's not an American disease."

In Little Liberia, Jalloh is not alone in her concern. Many Liberian-Americans share her fears. Momo Fully, a father of four, lost his cousin to Ebola in August. He worries the disease, which has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa, could take hold in the United States.

“People go back and forth all the time. There’s always the possibly of Ebola coming to America and spreading,” he said.

Health experts stress that despite the first Ebola diagnosis on U.S. soil, chances of an outbreak are very slim, given the far superior hospital services here.