Here Are Some Real Reasons New Yorkers Shouldn't Fear Ebola In NYC

Sara Boboltz
Updated

It's happened: The Ebola virus has made its move to the big city, presumably with big dreams of infecting the lot of us.

Ebola is understandably frightening, but if you listen to the voices of reason, there's not a lot to be scared about, and medical staff and emergency support crews are working hard to make sure it stays that way. Maybe that's one reason why most New Yorkers are saying they aren't scared. Or maybe it's because Ebola is really a poor match for what New Yorkers already choose to put up with on a daily basis. The city is filled with hazards, some much more real than others, so let's all remember:

New York's subway rats have been carrying Ebola-like, hemorrhagic fever-causing diseases for lord knows how long.

subway rat
subway rat

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

A recent study found the city's rats to carry a whole bunch of terrible diseases, which is the least surprising thing we've heard all week.

We live under constant threat of death by taxi.

No matter where you stand -- on the curb or just off it -- it seems like taxis are drawn to warm bodies like German tourists to Times Square. We wonder who gave them driver's licenses and how hard those instructors had recently hit their heads. Recent numbers suggest it's getting more dangerous out there, but our street smarts keep us safe.

New Yorkers casually walk around active construction sites, where razor-sharp blades occasionally fly off.

new york city construction
new york city construction

Back in May, one poor woman was hit by a chainsaw blade while walking around midtown Manhattan. While the blade flew 100 feet and grazed her leg, she sustained only minor injuries.

Our bike lanes are terrifying.

Casey Neistat made this video in 2011 to bring attention to the city's poorly maintained and hazardous bike lanes, and the police officers that still ticket riders for not using them. (The lanes are a bit better today, but still need reforms.)

Our subway cars harbor lethal viruses...

subway car
subway car

Chances are, you're not going to contract Ebola on the subway, but you could easily catch another very deadly virus -- the flu.

And mystery liquid dripping from the ceiling.

new york city subway platform
new york city subway platform

And other stuff that hopefully doesn't hit you in the face on its way down.

New Yorkers weathered a hurricane together.

new york city hurricane sandy 2012
new york city hurricane sandy 2012

The city lost power, homes, lives, subway access and most city functionality during 2012's Hurricane Sandy. But New York still stands, and even went on to give birth to the cronut. Let's cross our fingers that the next storm won't be so catastrophic.

And endure the erratic behaviors of New York's Finest.

Between pepper-spraying a guy waiting for the train, kicking people on the street and arresting a performer for simply playing music, it's hard to know what to expect from New York City police these days.

Plenty of people in New York ride the subway late at night.

new york city subway performers
new york city subway performers

What happens on lonely subway cars in the wee hours when no one's really around? Probably nothing bad, which is why some of us still ride the train then. (If you're lucky, you'll get a show!) But yes, there are risks. Risks we are willing to take in the name of not paying for a cab.

We eat from street carts...

new york city street cart
new york city street cart

It's totally fine... most of the time.

And restaurants with less-than-stellar Health Department ratings.

They get an "A" for creativity!

Sometimes we get trapped underground and don't know how long we'll be there.

nyc subway train
nyc subway train

Delays due to "train traffic ahead of us" or "a sick passenger" happen regularly, but occasionally a train just hops the rails entirely and leaves everyone underground for hours. Claustrophobes beware.

And finally, a lot of us regularly take the G train, which is a complete mental health hazard in itself.

It's G for "ghost."

President Barack Obama gives a hug to Dallas nurse Nina Pham in the Oval Office of the White House on October 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. Pham, a nurse who was infected with Ebola from treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and was first diagnosed on October 12, was declared free of the virus.
President Barack Obama gives a hug to Dallas nurse Nina Pham in the Oval Office of the White House on October 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. Pham, a nurse who was infected with Ebola from treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and was first diagnosed on October 12, was declared free of the virus.
A police officer guards the entrance to Bellevue Hospital on October 24, 2014 in New York, the morning after it was confirmed that Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders, who recently returned to New York from West Africa tested positive for Ebola.
A police officer guards the entrance to Bellevue Hospital on October 24, 2014 in New York, the morning after it was confirmed that Craig Spencer, a member of Doctors Without Borders, who recently returned to New York from West Africa tested positive for Ebola.
The apartment where Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan stayed when he fell ill under quarantine on October 20, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. Officials announced that 43 of the first wave of 48 people being monitored for having contact or potential contact with Duncan were officially off the list for twice-daily monitoring for Ebola and that all remained asymptomatic.
Nurses from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital rally in support of their employer outside the hospital October 17, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. Two of the hospital's nurses also contracted the virus while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian who was the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.
Nurses from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital rally in support of their employer outside the hospital October 17, 2014 in Dallas, Texas. Two of the hospital's nurses also contracted the virus while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian who was the first patient diagnosed with Ebola in the United States.
A first responder wears a full biohazard suit while spraying a disinfecting solution on the railing at the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) White Rock Station after a woman with Ebola-like symptoms fell ill at the station October 18, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.
A first responder wears a full biohazard suit while spraying a disinfecting solution on the railing at the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) White Rock Station after a woman with Ebola-like symptoms fell ill at the station October 18, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.
Mary Moorer leads a class with workers from the union 32BJ, many of them airline cabin cleaners, terminal cleaners and wheelchair attendants, on how to better protect themselves from infectious diseases in the wake of increased concerns around the Ebola virus on October 9, 2014 in New York City.
Mary Moorer leads a class with workers from the union 32BJ, many of them airline cabin cleaners, terminal cleaners and wheelchair attendants, on how to better protect themselves from infectious diseases in the wake of increased concerns around the Ebola virus on October 9, 2014 in New York City.
Workers with the union 32BJ, many of them airline cabin cleaners, terminal cleaners and wheelchair attendants, participate in a class on how to better protect themselves from infectious diseases in the wake of increased concerns around the Ebola virus on October 9, 2014 in New York City.
Workers with the union 32BJ, many of them airline cabin cleaners, terminal cleaners and wheelchair attendants, participate in a class on how to better protect themselves from infectious diseases in the wake of increased concerns around the Ebola virus on October 9, 2014 in New York City.
Members of Bellevue Hospital staff wear protective clothing as they demonstrate how they would receive a suspected Ebola patient on October 8, 2014 in New York City.
Members of Bellevue Hospital staff wear protective clothing as they demonstrate how they would receive a suspected Ebola patient on October 8, 2014 in New York City.
A cleaning crew removes items from the apartment where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was staying before being admitted to a hospital on October 6, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.
A cleaning crew removes items from the apartment where Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was staying before being admitted to a hospital on October 6, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.