I think Ebola, and the changes in behavior that the threat of Ebola would bring, would be even more devastating to the US than to a a rural, agrarian society. Our economy is so interdependent on the goods and services we provide each other, what would happen to our economy when everyone suddenly stops going to all the restaurants, and coffee shops, sporting events, movie theaters, taking plane flights,...
That's a consequence of implementing communist/socialist style centralization of economic control and regulation. Wickard v Filburn and the New Deal "substantial effects" doctrine of the Commerce Clause effectively gave the federal government the authority to force people into that interdependence, and they've done it at every opportunity.