Keynote delivered at Health 2.0 Europe 2015 Trust and communication are crucial elements for the control of the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa. In this presentation Luis will explain how social media and mobile technology has been a major element in the Ebola communication crisis. Diving into the natural "cures" for Ebola have been heavily marketed online, Luis will tackle how digital communication is a crucial part in the ongoing efforts to control the ebola outbreak in West Africa.

1. “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

2. • “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. 3 4Medical History
1 Diagnostic
2 Next StepsTreatment

4. 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/

5. "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

6. 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

8. 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

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

10. symptoms

11. NO EBOLA

12. FAKE CURES

13. 3 4Medical History
1 Diagnostic
2 Next StepsTreatment

14. DISEASE SURVEILLANCE
http://healthmap.org/ebola/#timeline

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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

18. EBOLA RESPONSE: SMS SURVEY
http://blog.geopoll.com/ebola-research-
sierra-leone-liberia

19. DETECTING rumors

20. 3 4Medical History
1 Diagnostic
2 Next StepsTreatment

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

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

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

24. treatment
http://www.appsagainstebola.org/

25. treatment

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

27. 3 4Medical History
1 Diagnostic
2 Next StepsTreatment

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

29. EBOLA(itis)?!!

30. 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

31. 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_165166818
4_n.jpg
"the patient is the
most under-used
resource in
healthcare”
@ePatientDave

32. THANKS!