Fear over a potential Ebola outbreak in the U.S. has triggered widespread panic and hysteria all over the country as citizens scramble to protect themselves from infection to a near-irrational degree amid bipartisan demands to impose a travel ban in West Africa.

According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll, two-thirds of respondents said they were concerned about an outbreak in the U.S.

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The Obama administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health groups have reminded Americans that Ebola is still contained in the U.S. with only 3 out of 300 million citizens infected.

But despite their efforts, the 24-hour news cycle and social media have only hyped the hysteria which CNN legal analyst and commentator Mel Robbins coined as "Fear-bola."

Fear-bola, Robbins explained, weakens the brain's ability for rational thinking that transforms concern over two Ebola-infected health workers to fear over a widespread pandemic in the country.

This may be the reason why the CDC spent the first week of October fielding some 800 calls from Americans concerned about an outbreak.

Last week, teachers from Mississippi and Maine were given paid leaves after the students' concerned parents discovered the former had recently arrived from Zambia - an African country still untouched by Ebola - and Dallas, where two U.S. cases had been confirmed, respectively.

Republicans and Democrats alike have called on Obama to impose a travel ban in Ebola-stricken West Africa.

Missouri GOP Sen. Roy D. Blunt on Sunday said the health concern translated into fear because of the government's inability to manage the issue in the way the people wanted it to be managed.

Democrat North Carolina incumbent Kay Hagan acknowledged that preventing the spread of the disease would require global concerted efforts, arguing that a temporary travel ban would be the most sensible course of action to protect America.

The CDC and other health professionals have argued against a travel ban, saying that this could only increase the likelihood people from West Africa would employ avoidant measures thereby conversely raising the risk of an Ebola pandemic.

Carnegie Mellon decision sciences professor Baruch Fischhoff attributes part of the paranoia to health care systems that have at times, sent mixed messages, the New York Times relayed.

He cited the Dallas hospital, which has released stories on the Ebola cases thrice.

Although most Americans recognize the fact that there are only few confirmed Ebola cases in the U.S., "they also know that the human system for managing this is imperfect," Fischhoff said.

Trust has two elements - competence and trust. People don't know how much of the truth they are getting if health care systems continue changing their stories, he added.

TagsEbola outbreak, Fear-bola, CDC, Barack Obama, Dallas Ebola Patient, Roy Blunt, Kay Hagen, poll