Kara Bosworth, who played alongside Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Rene Russo, and Morgan Freeman in the 1995 Ebola virus-themed drama-horror film Outbreak, expressed her shock and fear upon discovering the first Ebola patient in the United States is located “just down the street” from her receiving treatment in a Dallas, Texas hospital.
“I just can’t believe that it’s real… This is so close, in a hospital right down the street,” Bosworth said in a recent interview on Inside Edition, noting that the discovery “freaked” her out.
Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on September 28 after being turned away three days earlier, when emergency room medical staff dismissed his symptoms as being the result of a low-grade viral infection.
He had flown from the West African nation of Liberia to the United States in what may have been a “desperate attempt to survive.” Duncan had been in “serious but stable” condition for the past few days, but is now “fighting for his life” as his condition has worsened to critical, according to Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control.
Frieden said in a statement on Sunday that Duncan was not receiving experimental drugs as part of his treatment. Frieden claimed such drugs “can be quite difficult for patients to take and may transiently worsen their condition.”
Bosworth, referring to herself as “a realist,” noted that she does feel “pretty safe” following statements and preventative tips issued by the CDC about Ebola. However, she emphasized that she also feels as though she’s living “in a bubble.”
Bosworth recalled a scene from Outbreak in which the Ebola virus (which was called Motaba in the film) became airborne, which meant “you couldn’t protect yourself. You were just completely a victim; anybody could be.”
She described, during her interview, walking out as a six or seven-year-old during a scene in the movie’s ’95 premiere because “the blood, the gore, all of it” was so “horrifying,” relaying how the Ebola case in Dallas sent chilling echoes of that scene in her mind.
As for Bosworth’s advice for the population at large regarding Ebola? “Just stay away from sick people.”
Image: Kara Bosworth/Twitter