I feel safe because I understand the virus. Despite the fact that it is too small to see, it is still a biological entity and behaves according to very predictable and understandable principles.
Likewise, when certain microorganisms scare me, it is because I understand them. Influenza season is coming up, and several thousand Americans are going to die from it. Even some people who get vaccinated will die from it. *That* should scare just about anyone.
Dengue is coming to the US, and it seems there is little we can do about it. There are four kinds of dengue. If you get dengue, you probably will survive it. But if you later get another kind of dengue, you have a high chance of dying from it because your first bout of dengue primed you to die.
If you ever want material to keep you up at night, try attending an American Association of Microbiology conference. There, you get to learn just how on-the-edge we are with respect to infectious diseases. The CDC and state public health agencies work all the time to control infectious disease—thousands of people work full time at it, and even then, people still get sick.
Ebola... it’s mostly a distraction. Other diseases that are here right now are killing us every day. Oddly, no one seems to care about those diseases, because they don’t make the news.
Good for you. Maybe you should travel to Liberia and volunteer.