Survey: Most Americans Confident in US Government’s Ability to Prevent Ebola Outbreak

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) — Despite the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa and multiple patients who have received or are receiving treatment for the disease in the United States, most Americans remain confident in the government’s ability to prevent a major outbreak in the U.S.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, just 11 percent of respondents say they are “very worried” that they will be exposed to Ebola. Conducted among over 1,000 adults between Oct. 2 and Oct. 5, the poll found that 58 percent of adults say they have either a “fair amount” or a “great deal” of confidence in the U.S. government to prevent an outbreak.

Respondents also were asked how worried they were that they or a relative would be exposed to the disease, with 67 percent saying they were “not at all” worried or “not too” worried.

The survey results are somewhat politically aligned, with 69 percent of Democrats saying they have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the government, compared to just 48 percent of Republicans. Conversely, 51 percent of Republicans say they have “not much” or no confidence in the government — far higher than the 28 percent of Democrats.

The figures on Ebola are, interestingly, very different from numbers from a November 2005 survey regarding the Bird Flu outbreak. During that outbreak, with a Republican president in office, Republicans by a 74-24 majority said they had a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the government’s handling of the outbreak, compared to a 63-35 majority of Democrats saying they had “not much” or no confidence in the government.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio