Covering Ebola

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Covering Ebola Paige Brown Jarreau, Guest Lecture

Transcript of Covering Ebola

  1. 1. Covering EbolaPaige Brown Jarreau, Guest Lecture
  2. 2. EbolaEbola: Basics About the Diseasehttp://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43750.pdf
  3. 3. Ebola Outbreak 2014Ebola has been spreading since it was first diagnosed in March 2014 in Guinea.More than two-thirds who got the disease in this current outbreak in West Africadidnt survive. Almost 4,500 have died so far. It is the deadliest outbreak of Ebolain history.http://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-33211The disease was first identified in 1976, appearing simultaneously in Sudan andthe Democratic Republic of Congo. Until now the number of cases has been fairlylimited, but the fatality rates are high anywhere from 25% to 90%; the averageis 50% depending on the strain of virus and the care received.http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/public-health/ebola-virus-us-preparedness-review-research-perspectives#
  4. 4. Assessing theInternational SpreadingRisk Associated with the2014 West African EbolaOutbreakSEPTEMBER 2, 2014the short-term (3 and 6weeks) probability ofinternational spreadoutside the Africanregion is small, but notnegligible. The extensionof the outbreak is morelikely occurring in Africancountries, increasing therisk of internationaldissemination on alonger time scale.
  5. 5. How ContagiousIs it Really?What to knowhttp://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/10/02/352983774/no-seriously-how-contagious-is-ebola Sick people become infectious themselves only when they begin to showsymptoms. Disease transmission requires direct contact with an infected personsbodily fluids, such as blood, vomit or semen. (Extreme caution is warrantedbecause there is no vaccine for Ebola). While Ebola virus is extremely dangerous, its transmission rate is lower thanthat of many other diseases. As long as people are under proper care and appropriate precautions aretaken, theres no reason to think we cant control the transmission of thevirus - Michael VanRooyen, Harvard Medical Schoolhttp://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/08/understanding-ebola/.
  6. 6. 2014 Ebola Outbreak A CrisisWHO Director-General Margaret Chan noted that this outbreak is a socialcrisis, a humanitarian crisis, an economic crisis, and a threat to nationalsecurity well beyond the outbreak zones.
  7. 7. Why is covering the current Ebola outbreak difficult?This epidemic is showing how disease is a lotmore complicated than just being a virus orbacteria or parasite, etc., that has to be fought.Diseases need certain environmentalcircumstances to thrivelike poverty in post-civilwar countries, which is of course what we see inLiberia and Sierra Leone. But that then gets intohistory, politics, and a lot of nuance, which is,frankly, boring for anyone participating in the 24/7news cycle. Kelly Hills, professional editor and writer in themedical sciences and humanities
  8. 8. Why is covering the current Ebola outbreak difficult?[I]nstead of a simple backbreaking poverty meansthat the situation was prime for an epidemic to occur,because of limited medical resources and almost no doctors,which is completely opposite what y'all in the developedworld are accustomed to, people go for the over-the-top (andwrong) depictions of Ebola that have been perpetuatedby The Hot Zone and movies like Outbreak. And, of course,focus on the few developed world doctors and nurses whobecome sick because they're like rather than other. Kelly Hills, professional editor and writer in the medicalsciences and humanities
  9. 9. Sensationalism[I]n other words, oh my god is Ebolamutating?!?! is the sort of clickbait that the24/7 news cycle will flock to....if they could Buzzfeed the headline tosomething like Ebola: What You Don't KnowWill Shock You or One Easy Trick toStopping the Ebola Epidemic theywould/will. Kelly Hills, professional editor and writer inthe medical sciences and humanities
  10. 10. Ebola in Americahttp://blogs.spjnetwork.org/ethics/2014/10/20/ebola-in-america/
  11. 11. Ethics of Reporting Ebola in U.S. While many people wave off irresponsible journalism as the result ofthe digital world hungry for constant content, reports that lead to morequestions than answers may also lead to harm. the general U.S. publicfor the most partonly know of Ebola virusdisease through the stories and images they received in years pastfrom Africa. Journalists have the responsibility to act and provideaccurate answers through thorough reporting. Its not the job ofjournalists to drum up unwarranted fear or concern. In addition to the wear and tear of general anxiety, the potential harmof unchecked rumors and fear among the general public can be seenin U.S. history books. Fear and uncertainty over the transmission ofHIV in 1987 led to a ban on people infected with the virus, whichcauses AIDS, from entering the U.S. The ban stayed on the booksuntil 2009, a year after then-President George W. Bush began therepeal process.http://blogs.spjnetwork.org/ethics/2014/10/20/ebola-in-america/
  12. 12. Dont Trust TwitterIn the first two weeks of October, therewere more than 18 million tweets with theword Ebola.Volume of #Ebola tweets by country. Crimson Hexagonhttp://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-33211
  13. 13. Who is Tweeting about Ebola? The World Health Organization, UNICEF, the UN and similar bodies havetaken to Twitter to spread information and advice, and counter half-truths. Constant updates from news outlets about who in the West has contractedthe disease or the level of preparedness of the local hospitals. But only a handful of tweets have come from the ground in West Africa,where the crisis is most acute. The number of tweets from three of the mostaffected countries, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, can be counted in thehundreds. Out of the more than a million #Ebola tweets with an identifiable location,around 60% have come from Americans.http://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-33211
  14. 14. Who is Tweeting about Ebola?Frequent Terms and Themeshttp://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-33211
  15. 15. Ebola is here! (Fear and sensationalism)The Speaker, Flickr.com.
  16. 16. Who is Tweeting about Ebola?The largest single spike of chatter on #Ebola was onOctober 16 after news emerged that Amber Vinson, anurse who treated Duncan, had contracted the virus. On thatday, more than three-quarters of tweets came from the US.Ebola largely reflects the hopes and fears of Americans,driven by the latest news tidbits about the disease on the USmainland. The real story is happening thousands ofkilometers away, where doctors, nurses and medicalworkers are trying to contain the outbreak with stretchedresources. Those tweets from West Africa are simplydrowned out by the volume and visibility of Americanstweeting about Ebola.http://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-33211
  17. 17. Ebola Worries RiseBroad Support for U.S. Efforts to Deal With Ebola in West Africahttp://www.people-press.org/2014/10/21/ebola-worries-rise-but-most-are-fairly-confident-in-government-hospitals-to-deal-with-disease/
  18. 18. What Can Communicators Do? Direct public concern into Ebola aid:http://www.kellyhills.com/blog/aid-organizations-working-in-ebola-regions/[T]here is an onus on the various mediumsto expand the call for help expressed byboth the WHO and MSF. Unfortunately, thisdidn't happen quickly. As a result, littlewas done for months after the PublicHealth Emergency was declared. Whiletraditional media may not choose thisroute, blog posts and social media can beused to spread the word. MSF has done agood job but they cant do this alone. Jason A Tetro, AKA TheGermGuy
  19. 19. What can you do to cover Ebola, or similaroutbreaks, better?
  20. 20. Ask Questions of ExpertsAs with any topic, journalists with questions aboutEbola virus disease or possible cases incommunities should do what they always do askquestions and provide accurate information.- Andrew Seaman,http://blogs.spjnetwork.org/ethics/2014/10/20/ebola-in-america/
  21. 21. Find Experts, not experts
  22. 22. Some Science Bloggers/Writers Covering Ebola with ExpertiseVirology Down Under -http://virologydownunder.blogspot.com/http://www.taracsmith.com/ebola.htmlhttp://www.wired.com/category/superbugDont be afraid to ask theseand other experts for help/infoon social media
  23. 23. The Hot Zone is NOT a good example
  24. 24. Dont Believe Everything You See in the Movies Part of the fear about an Ebola outbreak in theUS stems from how the virus has been treated byHollywood and the media. "Ebola has a mystique about it because the waythat it has been treated in fiction. - Amesh Adalja,an infectious disease specialist from theUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center and theCenter for Health Security All of these factors work to fuel a panic mentality.But in the US, Canada, Europe, and mostcountries with well-developed health caresystems, Ebola poses almost no real risk becausepatients can be isolated and treated withoutspreading the virus.http://www.businessinsider.com/ebola-virus-in-us-dallas-dont-panic-2014-9#ixzz3EqcLntE8
  25. 25. Combating Public Misperceptions"If you came of age at a certain time, when you hear Ebola, youalmost certainly associate it with stories of people horriblybleeding from every orifice, eyes weeping blood, as they die aviolent and wet death. Graphic, it makes for good thriller readingor moviesand yet, is so inaccurate, people are actually dyingbecause it doesn't look like you think it 'should' from thesepopular media reports.You have to walk back what people think theyknow, in order to share not only what they shouldbut need to know.- Kelly Hills, science writer/editor
  26. 26. Its about more than Virology
  27. 27. Better ways to cover the Ebola outbreak Focus more on the people who are dying in the Western Africannations. Be honest about why the typical models for controlling an Ebolaoutbreak aren't working there. Don't perpetuate the unsubstantiated claims of mutation. Look beyond the medical to the anthropology, the culture, and theother factors beyond poverty that are blocking efforts at containment. Be aware of the privilege that comes from writing while wealthy -center the story on the people actually suffering from the devastatingeffects of Ebola (whether they or their family have contracted or diedfrom it, or if they're being hurt from the lack of medical services for allother needs) Be realistic about both why the situation has deteriorated and how itwill be fixed.
  28. 28. Crisis Communications: Dont Spread Panic
  29. 29. Beware Airborne and Mutation Claims One of the most controversial issues implicated in the current outbreak isthe issue of whether Ebola can be transmitted through the air. Scientists donot believe it can, based on the most recent lab experiments. The CDC summarizes the findings of several studies as follows: Airbornetransmission of Ebola virus has been hypothesized but not demonstrated inhumans. While Ebola virus can be spread through airborne particles underexperimental conditions in animals, this type of spread has not beendocumented during human EVD outbreaks in settings such as hospitals orhouseholds.http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/public-health/ebola-virus-us-preparedness-review-research-perspectives#Nature magazine 2014 study:http://www.nature.com/srep/2014/140725/srep05824/full/srep05824.html
  30. 30. Focus on Global AnglesThere's been too much focus on the American health care workersand British nurse who were sick, and not enough on the folks inWest Africa dying of the disease. Kelly Hills
  31. 31. Focus on Global Angles, Humanize the Outbreakhttp://www.scilogs.com/thats_basic_science/outbreak-abroad-jennifer-yang-toronto-star/
  32. 32. Science Tweeters: #ebolanoia
  33. 33. Science Tweeters: #ebolanoia
  34. 34. Other Issues Culturally SensitiveScience Communication
  35. 35. Other Issues Culturally SensitiveScience CommunicationAs an ecologist, I appreciate this perspective. It's an important connection that fewpeople make or understand. When forest ecosystems are modified or destroyed andhuman settlements expand into once wild or hardly inhabited spaces, people are morelikely to come into contact with diseases. It's referred to as Vector Sink dynamics.Visit the website and use scan it. It's image after image of thick masses of sick anddepressed black and brown bodies associated with negative phrases like human filth,polluting the earth, ecosystem collapse. Then there's this one image of a white guyholding a sign "Earth is Everything" - defender of the Earth I suppose.I see no passionate outrage on the deforestation and mining interests or coffee/cocoaagriculture interests in West Africa and how these (Western) political-economicinterests play a role in Ebola spread dynamics or West African poverty, populationspread, climate change impact, or large-scale civil conflict.The messages sound judge-y and accusatory and let Western culprits completely offof the hook for the myriad ways they contribute to disenfranchisement and disparitiesin developing nations. Dr. Danielle Lee, @DNLee5http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/2014/10/27/if-you-cant-be-a-good-example-be-a-warning-how-ecointernets-scicomm-fail-can-make-you-a-more-culturally-aware-science-communicator/
  36. 36. First Case of Ebola in the USOK Coverage: Business InsiderNo-so-OK Coverage: CNNThe patient is believed to have had ahandful of contacts with people aftershowing symptoms of the virus, and beforebeing isolated, Frieden said. A CDC teamwas en route to Texas to help investigatethose contacts. [] At the same time,Frieden sought to play down the risk topublic health. There are currently no othersuspected cases of Ebola in Texas. NBCThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasconfirmed the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola inthe United States is at a hospital in Dallas. But they saythere's "zero risk" he infected anyone else on his flighthere and they're confident the virus will not spreadwidely in the United States.
  37. 37. Lessons For Journalism Students If you are asked to cover a particular research study on Ebola; do whatyou can to put some kind of human element and context into the story thatwill make people care about the outbreak as a whole. - Erika CheckHayden I believe the word context must be discussed. A look at the history, thesociopolitical issues, the economic issues, the culture, the behaviors, andthe reaction to intervention needs to be explored. Also, a look at howprevious encounters in other areas of the world (SARS, cholera, etc.) canoffer perspective on how this current outbreak is either unique (its not) orsimilar to other epidemics. - Jason The Germ Guy TetroThe fight against Ebola in Guinea. EuropeanCommission DG ECHO, Flickr.com
  38. 38. Lessons For PR & Crisis Communication Students Rely on the experts. And University PR/PIO? Check all your departments!Don't be afraid to mass email! Look under rocksand I mean that kind ofliterally; my alma mater? The epidemiologists often were in the geographydepartment, because diseases are often impacted/affected by naturalterrain. - Kelly Hills Be careful and only speak when the evidence is known. On that note,avoid at all costs the What If scenario. - Jason The Germ Guy Tetro
  39. 39. More Reading Covering Ebola How Do You Catch Ebola: By Air, Sweat Or Water? Ebola scams are sickening 13 things you need to know about Ebola Peter Piot, one of Ebola discoverers: "I wouldn't be worried to sit next to someone withEbola virus on the Tube as long as they don't vomit on you or something. This is aninfection that requires very close contact." Studying Ebola, Then Dying From It, a piece that brings humanity to the outbreak Scientists see risk of mutant airborne Ebola as remote, via Reuters Surviving Ebola, but Untouchable Back Home World struggles to stop Ebola CDC Updates: http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/