U.S. Preps For Ebola Outbreak Cases May Exceed 100,000 By December “The Numbe...Hope Small
The article does not mention that a completely unrelated strain of ebola has broken out in the Congo. What are the chances of that?
Though news on the Ebola virus has been muted since two American health care workers were admitted to U.S.-based facilities last month, the deadly contagion continues to spread. According to the World Health Organization more than 40% of all Ebola cases thus far have occurred in just the last three months, suggesting that the virus is continuing to build steam.
Physicist Alessandro Vespignani of Northeastern University in Boston is one of several researchers trying to figure out how far Ebola may spread and how many people around the world could be affected. Based on his findings, there will be 10,000 cases by September of this year and it only gets worse from there.
Topic Ebola under EpidemiologyThis topic interests me to a grea.docxedwardmarivel
Topic: Ebola under Epidemiology
This topic interests me to a great extent because Ebola has been a deadly menace, ravaging the African continent and the world in general. According to World Health Organization (2015) the virus has so far claimed the lives of approximately 10,000 people. In addition, there is no single licensed vaccine to protect people against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) even though there are various vaccines which are currently in development through clinical trials. New Ebola cases are being reported each and every day and unless something is done fast, the disease will continue to pose a threat to human life. It is therefore important to understand the various aspects of this lethal virus in order to continuously take proper precaution against it.
The Audience
The paper will target community members who do not have an in depth understanding of the Ebola Virus. It will help to dispel any existing myths and misconceptions relating to the illness. By doing this, the community members will also be able to understand the steps that are being taken by the government through agencies such as C.D.C to prevent and control against the Ebola virus by training medical responders as well as airport crew and workers. This will calm them down and hence avert the risk of a panic situation in the area; incase an individual from the community is suspected of being infected with the virus. Community engagement is the key to controlling outbreaks by applying a set of interventions such as contact tracing, social mobilization, proper lab practices and surveillance. It is therefore important to educate the community members adequately on all aspects of the virus in order to lessen casualty in case an outbreak occurs in the area.
Learning Objectives
This paper will sensitize individuals on the symptoms associated with Ebola. It will also equip the audience with measures that can be undertaken if they suspect a friend or a family member to be infected by the virus. In addition, the paper will explore various matters relating to the origin of the virus. This will enhance their knowledge of the topic. By doing this, the audience will be enlightened enough to pass the correct information to other people around them. Sensitizing community members about the Ebola virus will also ensure that they understand the severity of this outbreak and come up with ways that can be used to aid the worst hit countries.
Project Forum
The project will be in an article form characterized by captioned photos, graphs and charts to add depth to the topic.
Data Collection
I hope to collect data regarding the current Ebola situation in West Africa through interviews and polls. I will carry out an online interview with a friend who is currently volunteering to manage the Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone. This will give me a firsthand impression of the Ebola situation in West Africa as well as shed light on the progress of Ebola medication within the region. I will also inq ...
As a rule, one should not panic at whatever crisis has momentarily fixed the attention of cable news producers. But the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has migrated to both Europe and America, may be the exception that proves the rule. There are at least six reasons that a controlled, informed panic might be in order.
Dr John Bergman discusses the true CAUSE of the most recent PANDEMIC SCARE...EBOLA! Get the real facts and research studies that reveal the truth about this "dreaded disease". Did you know that Ebola was discovered back in 1976? Why are we JUST NOW hearing about the risk to Americans? Learn 5 simple steps already proven to eliminate Ebola in Africa.
Amref Health Africa's Coffeehouse Speakers Series on global development took a look at the Ebola outbreak in West Africa - featuring lively conversation from our panelists and the audience.
Fighting an epidemic in a poorly-connected world. What does the Ebola crisis ...Manoj Bhusal
Epidemics like Ebola cause a lot of deaths, displacements, and despair, and they aren’t desirable for sure, but, on a positive note, they also reveal the ugly face of corporate capitalism, and make it clear who genuinely cares about the world and who doesn’t.
Public Health Response to Ebola Statement of Dr. FriedenDawn Dawson
House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Public Health Response to Ebola October 16, 2014
Statement of Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Preps For Ebola Outbreak Cases May Exceed 100,000 By December “The Numbe...Hope Small
The article does not mention that a completely unrelated strain of ebola has broken out in the Congo. What are the chances of that?
Though news on the Ebola virus has been muted since two American health care workers were admitted to U.S.-based facilities last month, the deadly contagion continues to spread. According to the World Health Organization more than 40% of all Ebola cases thus far have occurred in just the last three months, suggesting that the virus is continuing to build steam.
Physicist Alessandro Vespignani of Northeastern University in Boston is one of several researchers trying to figure out how far Ebola may spread and how many people around the world could be affected. Based on his findings, there will be 10,000 cases by September of this year and it only gets worse from there.
Topic Ebola under EpidemiologyThis topic interests me to a grea.docxedwardmarivel
Topic: Ebola under Epidemiology
This topic interests me to a great extent because Ebola has been a deadly menace, ravaging the African continent and the world in general. According to World Health Organization (2015) the virus has so far claimed the lives of approximately 10,000 people. In addition, there is no single licensed vaccine to protect people against the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) even though there are various vaccines which are currently in development through clinical trials. New Ebola cases are being reported each and every day and unless something is done fast, the disease will continue to pose a threat to human life. It is therefore important to understand the various aspects of this lethal virus in order to continuously take proper precaution against it.
The Audience
The paper will target community members who do not have an in depth understanding of the Ebola Virus. It will help to dispel any existing myths and misconceptions relating to the illness. By doing this, the community members will also be able to understand the steps that are being taken by the government through agencies such as C.D.C to prevent and control against the Ebola virus by training medical responders as well as airport crew and workers. This will calm them down and hence avert the risk of a panic situation in the area; incase an individual from the community is suspected of being infected with the virus. Community engagement is the key to controlling outbreaks by applying a set of interventions such as contact tracing, social mobilization, proper lab practices and surveillance. It is therefore important to educate the community members adequately on all aspects of the virus in order to lessen casualty in case an outbreak occurs in the area.
Learning Objectives
This paper will sensitize individuals on the symptoms associated with Ebola. It will also equip the audience with measures that can be undertaken if they suspect a friend or a family member to be infected by the virus. In addition, the paper will explore various matters relating to the origin of the virus. This will enhance their knowledge of the topic. By doing this, the audience will be enlightened enough to pass the correct information to other people around them. Sensitizing community members about the Ebola virus will also ensure that they understand the severity of this outbreak and come up with ways that can be used to aid the worst hit countries.
Project Forum
The project will be in an article form characterized by captioned photos, graphs and charts to add depth to the topic.
Data Collection
I hope to collect data regarding the current Ebola situation in West Africa through interviews and polls. I will carry out an online interview with a friend who is currently volunteering to manage the Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone. This will give me a firsthand impression of the Ebola situation in West Africa as well as shed light on the progress of Ebola medication within the region. I will also inq ...
As a rule, one should not panic at whatever crisis has momentarily fixed the attention of cable news producers. But the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has migrated to both Europe and America, may be the exception that proves the rule. There are at least six reasons that a controlled, informed panic might be in order.
Dr John Bergman discusses the true CAUSE of the most recent PANDEMIC SCARE...EBOLA! Get the real facts and research studies that reveal the truth about this "dreaded disease". Did you know that Ebola was discovered back in 1976? Why are we JUST NOW hearing about the risk to Americans? Learn 5 simple steps already proven to eliminate Ebola in Africa.
Amref Health Africa's Coffeehouse Speakers Series on global development took a look at the Ebola outbreak in West Africa - featuring lively conversation from our panelists and the audience.
Fighting an epidemic in a poorly-connected world. What does the Ebola crisis ...Manoj Bhusal
Epidemics like Ebola cause a lot of deaths, displacements, and despair, and they aren’t desirable for sure, but, on a positive note, they also reveal the ugly face of corporate capitalism, and make it clear who genuinely cares about the world and who doesn’t.
Public Health Response to Ebola Statement of Dr. FriedenDawn Dawson
House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Public Health Response to Ebola October 16, 2014
Statement of Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
All the Science That’s Fit to Blog - A Dissertation TalkPaige Jarreau
A presentation of findings from #MySciBlog interviews and 2014 survey of science blogging practices, conducted by Paige B. Jarreau, for the fulfillment of her dissertation research. Please credit all data and graphics to Paige B. Jarreau, Louisiana State University.
Science Communicators and Audience Values #aejmc14Paige Jarreau
Science communicators' perceptions of audience values, and how these perceptions affect their selection and production of (news) stories about science. By Paige Brown and Rosanne Scholl. Full paper @F1000Research, http://f1000research.com/articles/3-128/v1.
“Quote an Outside Female Scientist” - A Science Press Release ExperimentPaige Jarreau
The following is a research paper presentation for Experimental Methods at Louisiana State University. All research is based on an IRB-approved survey experiment conducted by Paige Brown in Spring 2014. Please contact Paige for more details. Update: Gender of the survey taker was controlled for in statistical analyses describing the effects of gender in the press release.
Seminar of U.V. Spectroscopy by SAMIR PANDASAMIR PANDA
Spectroscopy is a branch of science dealing the study of interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter.
Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy refers to absorption spectroscopy or reflect spectroscopy in the UV-VIS spectral region.
Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy is an analytical method that can measure the amount of light received by the analyte.
Richard's aventures in two entangled wonderlandsRichard Gill
Since the loophole-free Bell experiments of 2020 and the Nobel prizes in physics of 2022, critics of Bell's work have retreated to the fortress of super-determinism. Now, super-determinism is a derogatory word - it just means "determinism". Palmer, Hance and Hossenfelder argue that quantum mechanics and determinism are not incompatible, using a sophisticated mathematical construction based on a subtle thinning of allowed states and measurements in quantum mechanics, such that what is left appears to make Bell's argument fail, without altering the empirical predictions of quantum mechanics. I think however that it is a smoke screen, and the slogan "lost in math" comes to my mind. I will discuss some other recent disproofs of Bell's theorem using the language of causality based on causal graphs. Causal thinking is also central to law and justice. I will mention surprising connections to my work on serial killer nurse cases, in particular the Dutch case of Lucia de Berk and the current UK case of Lucy Letby.
Slide 1: Title Slide
Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Slide 2: Introduction to Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Definition: Extrachromosomal inheritance refers to the transmission of genetic material that is not found within the nucleus.
Key Components: Involves genes located in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and plasmids.
Slide 3: Mitochondrial Inheritance
Mitochondria: Organelles responsible for energy production.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA): Circular DNA molecule found in mitochondria.
Inheritance Pattern: Maternally inherited, meaning it is passed from mothers to all their offspring.
Diseases: Examples include Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) and mitochondrial myopathy.
Slide 4: Chloroplast Inheritance
Chloroplasts: Organelles responsible for photosynthesis in plants.
Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA): Circular DNA molecule found in chloroplasts.
Inheritance Pattern: Often maternally inherited in most plants, but can vary in some species.
Examples: Variegation in plants, where leaf color patterns are determined by chloroplast DNA.
Slide 5: Plasmid Inheritance
Plasmids: Small, circular DNA molecules found in bacteria and some eukaryotes.
Features: Can carry antibiotic resistance genes and can be transferred between cells through processes like conjugation.
Significance: Important in biotechnology for gene cloning and genetic engineering.
Slide 6: Mechanisms of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Non-Mendelian Patterns: Do not follow Mendel’s laws of inheritance.
Cytoplasmic Segregation: During cell division, organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts are randomly distributed to daughter cells.
Heteroplasmy: Presence of more than one type of organellar genome within a cell, leading to variation in expression.
Slide 7: Examples of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Four O’clock Plant (Mirabilis jalapa): Shows variegated leaves due to different cpDNA in leaf cells.
Petite Mutants in Yeast: Result from mutations in mitochondrial DNA affecting respiration.
Slide 8: Importance of Extrachromosomal Inheritance
Evolution: Provides insight into the evolution of eukaryotic cells.
Medicine: Understanding mitochondrial inheritance helps in diagnosing and treating mitochondrial diseases.
Agriculture: Chloroplast inheritance can be used in plant breeding and genetic modification.
Slide 9: Recent Research and Advances
Gene Editing: Techniques like CRISPR-Cas9 are being used to edit mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA.
Therapies: Development of mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) for preventing mitochondrial diseases.
Slide 10: Conclusion
Summary: Extrachromosomal inheritance involves the transmission of genetic material outside the nucleus and plays a crucial role in genetics, medicine, and biotechnology.
Future Directions: Continued research and technological advancements hold promise for new treatments and applications.
Slide 11: Questions and Discussion
Invite Audience: Open the floor for any questions or further discussion on the topic.
This pdf is about the Schizophrenia.
For more details visit on YouTube; @SELF-EXPLANATORY;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAiarMZDNhe1A3Rnpr_WkzA/videos
Thanks...!
(May 29th, 2024) Advancements in Intravital Microscopy- Insights for Preclini...Scintica Instrumentation
Intravital microscopy (IVM) is a powerful tool utilized to study cellular behavior over time and space in vivo. Much of our understanding of cell biology has been accomplished using various in vitro and ex vivo methods; however, these studies do not necessarily reflect the natural dynamics of biological processes. Unlike traditional cell culture or fixed tissue imaging, IVM allows for the ultra-fast high-resolution imaging of cellular processes over time and space and were studied in its natural environment. Real-time visualization of biological processes in the context of an intact organism helps maintain physiological relevance and provide insights into the progression of disease, response to treatments or developmental processes.
In this webinar we give an overview of advanced applications of the IVM system in preclinical research. IVIM technology is a provider of all-in-one intravital microscopy systems and solutions optimized for in vivo imaging of live animal models at sub-micron resolution. The system’s unique features and user-friendly software enables researchers to probe fast dynamic biological processes such as immune cell tracking, cell-cell interaction as well as vascularization and tumor metastasis with exceptional detail. This webinar will also give an overview of IVM being utilized in drug development, offering a view into the intricate interaction between drugs/nanoparticles and tissues in vivo and allows for the evaluation of therapeutic intervention in a variety of tissues and organs. This interdisciplinary collaboration continues to drive the advancements of novel therapeutic strategies.
The increased availability of biomedical data, particularly in the public domain, offers the opportunity to better understand human health and to develop effective therapeutics for a wide range of unmet medical needs. However, data scientists remain stymied by the fact that data remain hard to find and to productively reuse because data and their metadata i) are wholly inaccessible, ii) are in non-standard or incompatible representations, iii) do not conform to community standards, and iv) have unclear or highly restricted terms and conditions that preclude legitimate reuse. These limitations require a rethink on data can be made machine and AI-ready - the key motivation behind the FAIR Guiding Principles. Concurrently, while recent efforts have explored the use of deep learning to fuse disparate data into predictive models for a wide range of biomedical applications, these models often fail even when the correct answer is already known, and fail to explain individual predictions in terms that data scientists can appreciate. These limitations suggest that new methods to produce practical artificial intelligence are still needed.
In this talk, I will discuss our work in (1) building an integrative knowledge infrastructure to prepare FAIR and "AI-ready" data and services along with (2) neurosymbolic AI methods to improve the quality of predictions and to generate plausible explanations. Attention is given to standards, platforms, and methods to wrangle knowledge into simple, but effective semantic and latent representations, and to make these available into standards-compliant and discoverable interfaces that can be used in model building, validation, and explanation. Our work, and those of others in the field, creates a baseline for building trustworthy and easy to deploy AI models in biomedicine.
Bio
Dr. Michel Dumontier is the Distinguished Professor of Data Science at Maastricht University, founder and executive director of the Institute of Data Science, and co-founder of the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) data principles. His research explores socio-technological approaches for responsible discovery science, which includes collaborative multi-modal knowledge graphs, privacy-preserving distributed data mining, and AI methods for drug discovery and personalized medicine. His work is supported through the Dutch National Research Agenda, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, Horizon Europe, the European Open Science Cloud, the US National Institutes of Health, and a Marie-Curie Innovative Training Network. He is the editor-in-chief for the journal Data Science and is internationally recognized for his contributions in bioinformatics, biomedical informatics, and semantic technologies including ontologies and linked data.
Observation of Io’s Resurfacing via Plume Deposition Using Ground-based Adapt...Sérgio Sacani
Since volcanic activity was first discovered on Io from Voyager images in 1979, changes
on Io’s surface have been monitored from both spacecraft and ground-based telescopes.
Here, we present the highest spatial resolution images of Io ever obtained from a groundbased telescope. These images, acquired by the SHARK-VIS instrument on the Large
Binocular Telescope, show evidence of a major resurfacing event on Io’s trailing hemisphere. When compared to the most recent spacecraft images, the SHARK-VIS images
show that a plume deposit from a powerful eruption at Pillan Patera has covered part
of the long-lived Pele plume deposit. Although this type of resurfacing event may be common on Io, few have been detected due to the rarity of spacecraft visits and the previously low spatial resolution available from Earth-based telescopes. The SHARK-VIS instrument ushers in a new era of high resolution imaging of Io’s surface using adaptive
optics at visible wavelengths.
3. Ebola Outbreak 2014
“Ebola 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 Africa
didn’t survive. Almost 4,500 have died so far. It is the deadliest outbreak of Ebola
in history.”
http://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-
33211
“The disease was first identified in 1976, appearing simultaneously in Sudan and
the Democratic Republic of Congo. Until now the number of cases has been fairly
limited, but the fatality rates are high — anywhere from 25% to 90%; the average
is 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. Assessing the
International Spreading
Risk Associated with the
2014 West African Ebola
Outbreak
SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
“the short-term (3 and 6
weeks) probability of
international spread
outside the African
region is small, but not
negligible. The extension
of the outbreak is more
likely occurring in African
countries, increasing the
risk of international
dissemination on a
longer time scale.”
5. How Contagious
Is it Really?
What to know
http://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 show
symptoms.
• Disease transmission requires direct contact with an infected person’s
bodily fluids, such as blood, vomit or semen. (Extreme caution is warranted
because there is no vaccine for Ebola).
• While Ebola virus is extremely dangerous, its transmission rate is lower than
that of many other diseases.
• “As long as people are under proper care and appropriate precautions are
taken, there’s no reason to think we can’t control the transmission of the
virus” - Michael VanRooyen, Harvard Medical School
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/08/understanding-ebola/.
6. 2014 Ebola Outbreak – A Crisis
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan noted that this outbreak “is a social
crisis, a humanitarian crisis, an economic crisis, and a threat to national
security well beyond the outbreak zones.”
7. Why is covering the current Ebola outbreak difficult?
“This epidemic is showing how disease is a lot
more complicated than just being a virus or
bacteria or parasite, etc., that has to be fought.
Diseases need certain environmental
circumstances to thrive–like poverty in post-civil
war countries, which is of course what we see in
Liberia and Sierra Leone. But that then gets into
history, politics, and a lot of nuance, which is,
frankly, boring for anyone participating in the 24/7
news cycle.”
– Kelly Hills, professional editor and writer in the
medical sciences and humanities
8. Why is covering the current Ebola outbreak difficult?
“[I]nstead of a simple ‘backbreaking poverty means
that 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 developed
world are accustomed to,’ people go for the over-the-top (and
wrong) depictions of Ebola that have been perpetuated
by The Hot Zone and movies like ‘Outbreak.’ And, of course,
focus on the few developed world doctors and nurses who
become sick because they're ‘like’ rather than ‘other.’”
– Kelly Hills, professional editor and writer in the medical
sciences and humanities
9. Sensationalism
“[I]n other words, ‘oh my god is Ebola
mutating?!?!’ is the sort of clickbait that the
24/7 news cycle will flock to.
...if they could Buzzfeed the headline to
something like ‘Ebola: What You Don't Know
Will Shock You’ or ‘One Easy Trick to
Stopping the Ebola Epidemic’ … they
would/will.”
– Kelly Hills, professional editor and writer in
the medical sciences and humanities
10. Ebola in America
http://blogs.spjnetwork.org/ethics/2014/10/20/ebola-in-america/
11. Ethics of Reporting Ebola in U.S.
• “While many people wave off irresponsible journalism as the result of
the digital world hungry for constant content, reports that lead to more
questions than answers may also lead to harm.”
• “the general U.S. public…for the most part…only know of Ebola virus
disease through the stories and images they received in years past
from Africa. Journalists have the responsibility to act and provide
accurate answers through thorough reporting. It’s not the job of
journalists to drum up unwarranted fear or concern.”
• “In addition to the wear and tear of general anxiety, the potential harm
of unchecked rumors and fear among the general public can be seen
in U.S. history books. Fear and uncertainty over the transmission of
HIV in 1987 led to a ban on people infected with the virus, which
causes AIDS, from entering the U.S. The ban stayed on the books
until 2009, a year after then-President George W. Bush began the
repeal process.”
http://blogs.spjnetwork.org/ethics/2014/10/20/ebola-in-america/
12. Don’t Trust Twitter
In the first two weeks of October, there
were more than 18 million tweets with the
word “Ebola”.
Volume of #Ebola tweets by country. Crimson Hexagon
http://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-33211
13. Who is Tweeting about Ebola?
• The World Health Organization, UNICEF, the UN and similar bodies have
taken to Twitter to spread information and advice, and counter half-truths.
• Constant updates from news outlets about who in the West has contracted
the 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 most
affected countries, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, can be counted in the
hundreds.
• 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. Who is Tweeting about Ebola?
Frequent Terms and Themes
http://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-33211
15. Ebola is here! (Fear and sensationalism)
The Speaker, Flickr.com.
16. Who is Tweeting about Ebola?
“The largest single spike of chatter on #Ebola was on
October 16 after news emerged that Amber Vinson, a
nurse who treated Duncan, had contracted the virus. On that
day, 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 US
mainland. The real story is happening thousands of
kilometers away, where doctors, nurses and medical
workers are trying to contain the outbreak with stretched
resources. Those tweets from West Africa are simply
drowned out by the volume and visibility of Americans
tweeting about Ebola.”
http://theconversation.com/ebola-in-the-usa-dont-trust-what-you-read-on-twitter-33211
17. Ebola Worries Rise
Broad Support for U.S. Efforts to Deal With Ebola in West Africa
http://www.people-press.org/2014/10/21/ebola-worries-rise-but-most-are-fairly-confident-in-government-hospitals-to-deal-with-disease/
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 mediums
to expand the call for help expressed by
both the WHO and MSF. Unfortunately, this
didn't happen quickly. As a result, little
was done for months after the Public
Health Emergency was declared. While
traditional media may not choose this
route, blog posts and social media can be
used to spread the word. MSF has done a
good job but they can’t do this alone.”
– Jason A Tetro, AKA TheGermGuy
19. What can you do to cover Ebola, or similar
outbreaks, better?
20. Ask Questions of Experts
“As with any topic, journalists with questions about
Ebola virus disease or possible cases in
communities should do what they always do – ask
questions and provide accurate information.”
- Andrew Seaman,
http://blogs.spjnetwork.org/ethics/2014/10/20/ebola-in-america/
22. Some Science Bloggers/Writers Covering Ebola with Expertise
Virology Down Under -
http://virologydownunder.blogspot.com/
http://www.taracsmith.com/ebola.html
http://www.wired.com/category/superbug
Don’t be afraid to ask these
and other experts for help/info
on social media
24. Don’t Believe Everything You See in the Movies
• “Part of the fear about an Ebola outbreak in the
US stems from how the virus has been treated by
Hollywood and the media.”
• "Ebola has a mystique about it because the way
that it has been treated in fiction.“ - Amesh Adalja,
an infectious disease specialist from the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the
Center for Health Security
• “All of these factors work to fuel a panic mentality.
But in the US, Canada, Europe, and most
countries with well-developed health care
systems, Ebola poses almost no real risk because
patients can be isolated and treated without
spreading the virus.”
http://www.businessinsider.com/ebola-virus-in-us-dallas-
dont-panic-2014-9#ixzz3EqcLntE8
25. Combating Public Misperceptions
"If you came of age at a certain time, when you hear Ebola, you
almost certainly associate it with stories of people horribly
bleeding from every orifice, eyes weeping blood, as they die a
violent and wet death. Graphic, it makes for good thriller reading
or movies–and yet, is so inaccurate, people are actually dying
because it doesn't look like you think it 'should' from these
popular media reports.”
“You have to walk back what people think they
know, in order to share not only what they should
but need to know.”
- Kelly Hills, science writer/editor
27. Better ways to cover the Ebola outbreak
• Focus more on the people who are dying in the Western African
nations.
• Be honest about why the typical models for controlling an Ebola
outbreak aren't working there.
• Don't perpetuate the unsubstantiated claims of mutation.
• Look beyond the medical to the anthropology, the culture, and the
other 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 devastating
effects of Ebola (whether they or their family have contracted or died
from it, or if they're being hurt from the lack of medical services for all
other needs)
• Be realistic about both why the situation has deteriorated and how it
will be fixed.
29. Beware “Airborne” and Mutation Claims
• One of the most controversial issues implicated in the current outbreak is
the issue of whether Ebola can be transmitted through the air. Scientists do
not believe it can, based on the most recent lab experiments.
• The CDC summarizes the findings of several studies as follows: “Airborne
transmission of Ebola virus has been hypothesized but not demonstrated in
humans. While Ebola virus can be spread through airborne particles under
experimental conditions in animals, this type of spread has not been
documented during human EVD outbreaks in settings such as hospitals or
households.”
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. Focus on Global Angles
“There's been too much focus on the American health care workers
and British nurse who were sick, and not enough on the folks in
West Africa dying of the disease.” – Kelly Hills
31. Focus on Global Angles, Humanize the Outbreak
http://www.scilogs.com/thats_basic_science/outbreak-abroad-jennifer-yang-toronto-star/
35. Other Issues – Culturally Sensitive
Science Communication
36. Other Issues – Culturally Sensitive
Science Communication
“As an ecologist, I appreciate this perspective. It's an important connection that few
people make or understand. When forest ecosystems are modified or destroyed and
human settlements expand into once wild or hardly inhabited spaces, people are more
likely 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 and
depressed 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 guy
holding a sign "Earth is Everything" - defender of the Earth I suppose.”
“I see no passionate outrage on the deforestation and mining interests or coffee/cocoa
agriculture interests in West Africa and how these (Western) political-economic
interests play a role in Ebola spread dynamics or West African poverty, population
spread, climate change impact, or large-scale civil conflict.”
“The messages sound judge-y and accusatory and let Western culprits completely off
of the hook for the myriad ways they contribute to disenfranchisement and disparities
in developing nations.”
– Dr. Danielle Lee, @DNLee5
http://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/
37. First Case of Ebola in the US
OK Coverage:
• Business Insider
No-so-OK Coverage:
• CNN
“The patient is believed to have had a
handful of contacts with people after
showing symptoms of the virus, and before
being isolated, Frieden said. A CDC team
was en route to Texas to help investigate
those contacts. […] At the same time,
Frieden sought to play down the risk to
public health. There are currently no other
suspected cases of Ebola in Texas.”
• NBC
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has
confirmed the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in
the United States is at a hospital in Dallas. But they say
there's "zero risk" he infected anyone else on his flight
here and they're confident the virus will not spread
widely in the United States.”
38. Lessons For Journalism Students
• “If you are asked to cover a particular research study on Ebola; do what
you can to put some kind of human element and context into the story that
will make people care about the outbreak as a whole.” - Erika Check
Hayden
• “I believe the word ‘context’ must be discussed. A look at the history, the
sociopolitical issues, the economic issues, the culture, the behaviors, and
the reaction to intervention needs to be explored. Also, a look at how
previous encounters in other areas of the world (SARS, cholera, etc.) can
offer perspective on how this current outbreak is either unique (it’s not) or
similar to other epidemics.” - Jason ‘The Germ Guy’ Tetro
The fight against Ebola in Guinea. European
Commission DG ECHO, Flickr.com
39.
40. 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 rocks–and I mean that kind of
literally; my alma mater? The epidemiologists often were in the geography
department, because diseases are often impacted/affected by natural
terrain.” - 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
41. 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 with
Ebola virus on the Tube as long as they don't vomit on you or something. This is an
infection 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/