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Ebola Fears in U.S. Boost Sales of Emergency SuppliesBy Craig Giammona Oct 4, 2014 12:00 AM ETIn the past two years, David Scott’s online emergency-supply business had sold only one or two “Extended Infection Protection†kits. This week, he sold out. Scott said he’s shipped about 50 of the $149.95 packages in the last two weeks, with sales spiking in the three days since officials said a patient in Dallas had been diagnosed with Ebola. While he’s since found new supplies of the kits, which include respirators, eye protection, gloves and biohazard bags, Scott said any spread of the disease could again send him scrambling to locate more inventory. “People don’t tend to think about these things until they’re in the headlines, then they panic-buy,†said Scott, who founded Chicago-based LifeSecure in 2005. “If you wait until a pandemic happens, the supply dries up very quickly.†His business isn’t the only one that’s booming in the wake of the U.S. arrival of the deadly infectious disease ravaging West Africa. Since the first case diagnosed outside of Africa was announced earlier this week, fears of a wider outbreak have been boosting sales of disaster-preparedness supplies from rubber gloves to surgical masks and plastic suits. Almost 7,500 people in West Africa have been infected with Ebola, which is spread through contact with blood or other bodily fluids, and almost half have died. Health officials said yesterday that about 50 people in Dallas are being monitored for symptoms of the disease after either coming into contact with patient Thomas Eric Duncan or possibly being exposed to the infection some other way. Duncan traveled to the U.S. from Liberia on Sept. 20 and was hospitalized eight days later.