“THE EBOLA DIGITAL WILDFIRE OF MISINFORMATION”

Luis Fernandez-Luque PhD

luis.luque@norut.no @luisluque

eHealth Researcher at Norut.no

Co-founder at Salumedia.com

Health 2.0 Europe - 19th may 2015

• “Patient”: Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

• Main problem: Communication

• Outbreak: 2014-ongoing

• Pathology: Misinformation

EBOLA 2014: A CLINICAL CASE

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clipboard_01.svg

3 4Medical History

1Diagnostic

2Next StepsTreatment

West Africa Civil WARS

"Fighting in Monrovia(10-06-2013 12-44)" by KALOU KAKA - Kalou Kaka. Licensed under GFDL via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

"Kids at dump in Sierra Leone" by Intsamaritan - Template:Int samaritan. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

Sierra Leone (WHO 2008)

Under-5 Mortality 276 per 1,000

Sierra Leone (WHO 2008)

Under-5 Mortality 276 per 1,000

http://www.unicefstories.org/tag/erica-kochi/

Sierra Leone (ITU 2013)

44% Mobile per 100 inhabitants

Sierra Leone (ITU 2013)

44% Mobile per 100 inhabitants

Author: Peter Muller, winner in the category of general news. http://elpais.com/elpais/2015/02/12/album/1423738350_821141.html#1423738350_821141_1423740270

World Press Photo 2015World Press Photo 2015

EBOLA OUTBREAK

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28755033

symptoms

NO EBOLA

FAKE CURES

3 4Medical History

1Diagnostic

2Next StepsTreatment

DISEASE SURVEILLANCE

http://healthmap.org/ebola/#timeline

Ebola Crisis – before the crisis

“HealthMap’s automated text-processing algorithm has been tracking the Ebola outbreak since March 14, when the Guinean news site Africaguinee.com reported “a strange fever” in the country’s Macenta prefecture “marked by anal and nasal bleeding.”

Larry Greenemeier, "Smart Machines Join Humans in Tracking Africa Ebola Outbreak", Scientific American, September 24, 2014

http://kizzmyanthia.com/?cat=481

“The success of the Ebola response is access to real-time data“Rajiv Shah (was the Administrator of USAID from January 7th, 2010 to February 19th, 2015)

“The success of the Ebola response is access to real-time data“Rajiv Shah (was the Administrator of USAID from January 7th, 2010 to February 19th, 2015)

TRACKING MOVEMENTS

Matthew Wall, "Ebola: Can big data analytics help contain its spread?”, 14 October, BBC News, http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29617831

“We've never had this large-scale, anonymised mobile phone data before as a species," says Nuria Oliver, a scientific director at mobile phone company Telefonica.” BBC News

EBOLA RESPONSE: SMS SURVEY

http://blog.geopoll.com/ebola-research-sierra-leone-liberia

DETECTING rumors

3 4Medical History

1Diagnostic

2Next StepsTreatment

treatment

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29573964

treatment

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/10/27/357647182/the-red-cross-is-using-text-messaging-to-take-...

treatment

https://www.sfcg.org/soap-operas-about-ebola/

treatment

http://www.appsagainstebola.org/

treatment

treatment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3IPbYB1nT8

3 4Medical History

1Diagnostic

2Next StepsTreatment

resolution

Matthew Wall, https://internationalmedicalcorps.org/Sierra-Leone-Ebola-Treatment-Centers0

reconstructionreconstruction

EBOLA(itis)?!!

1) Which technology do we use for the next outbreak?

1) How do we use technology for communication?

1) Did the pilots work?

1) What will you do better?

OPEN QUESTIONS

COMMUNICATION TO PREVENT

1. Empower communities to handle health crisis

1. Empower the people to prevent disease before there is an outbreak

1. Invest in Trust

http://www.tsunster.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/161947_394120137269558_1651668184_n.jpg

"the patient is the most under-used

resource in healthcare” @ePatientDave

THANKS!