Editor, Gazette-Journal:

There is currently considerable speculation involving Ebola and the first Ebola victim to be diagnosed in the U.S. Not much is generally known about the Ebola virus; meanwhile, rumors circulate, creating confusion, even fear. The lack of any positive action by the government adds to this confusion.

What is known is that the Ebola virus is a cousin of Marburg, a virus first encountered in a German city of the same name in 1967. The Marburg virus is believed to have arrived in Germany via the importation of the green monkey from Africa. These monkeys were imported for the intended use as specimens for medical research.

The former Soviet Union, as early as 1973, began research of Marburg and Ebola as a possible bio warfare agent. This consideration was prompted primarily by the fact that no known antibiotic existed for either virus. Then as now, trafficking in germs and viruses is legal and commonplace under the auspices of scientific research. The Soviet Union...