History of Ebola Virus Disease - Report Example

History of Ebola History of Ebola Ebola Hemorrhagic fever is one of the most worrisome ailments to be witnessed in the last three decades. The disease is known to be caused by one of the five Ebola viruses that are quite different. Indeed, it has been ascertained that four strains of the Ebola virus can lead to severe illness not only in humans but also in animals. However, the fifth strain of the Ebola virus has been ascertained to cause illness in some of the animals but not in humas. The first human Ebola outbreak happened in the year 1976 one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Northern Zaire in Central Africa while the other occurred in Southern Sudan. It is essential to note that most of the Ebola outbreaks have their origin in Africa and thus they have only travelled to other nations through the shipment of either the non-human primates or even via accidental contamination prevalent in testing facilities. Based on the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention”, the Ebola virus was named after the “Ebola River”, in which the Ebola virus was first discovered in 1976. Despite the fact that Ebola is an extremely infectious ailment, it should be noted that it is not extremely contagious. This disease is infectious due to the fact that an infinite small amount can result to illness. According to the laboratory experiments conducted on the non-human primates, it was ascertained even just a single Ebola virus is sufficient to cause a fatal infection. Humans can become infected by the virus when they come into contact with body fluids of a person who is infected or even from any contaminated objects that are handled by the infected individuals (Forbes, 2014). How the Media covers the Ebola Issue Available research has indicated that indeed, the illustration of how Ebola is covered by the media portrays how problematic such media reports can actually be. For example despite the fact that the first Ebola patient who was diagnosed with the ailment died some days earlier, it was surprising how the media in the US gave it significant attention yet three days earlier, the Sierra Leone Government Health Officials had reported the death of approximately 121 Ebola deaths in just one day. But however, the Western Media gave the issue in Sierra Leone little attention. Until the American Doctors who were working in the Ebola stricken West African countries became diagnosed with the Ebola disease, the outbreak had indeed remained to be largely faceless in the media. The outbreak of the Ebola disease can only become a great issue in the media if it was spread to the United States of American soil. This is therefore a great indicator that indeed, the media really seemed to treat some of the epidemics differently based on where they happened and to whom. It can be asserted that unfortunately, the Western Media has rated diseases as being first-world and third-world ailments and therefore, the attention which is devoted to the third world diseases is highly dependent on the threat posed on the Western countries and not on a universal or global measure of human suffering. There is therefore great need for the media to be fair in their reporting and thus a death in Asia or even in Africa should just be as tragic as any death occurring in the USA or Europe (Thomas, 2014). Is Ebola a Real Threat or an Overreaction by the Media? It seems that during the recent past, all that the media wants to talk is about Ebola and the ISIS which is regarded as being the biggest threats to the US since President Barrack Obama was elected. However, it is quite unfortunate that there are numerous other things which can probably kill someone even before ISI or Ebola does so. Indeed, the American people’s minds have been inundated with numerous media coverage who warn them of the dire threats that are facing the country, Ebola included. However, it can be genuinely be asserted that Ebola is not a real threat but an overreaction by the media. This is due to the fact that indeed, majority of the treats which are mostly hyped are not really the ones which are threatening the American people but rather the larger dangers which are known to be ignored. This is a clear indication that the politicians together with the media are capable of distorting threats thus making most of the American people to overreact towards minor or small dangers while ignoring the challenging, big and divisive problems that are facing them like Climate Change. Ebola is not a real threat but an overreaction by the media because based on the highly “un-scientific and incomplete” ranking of the threats in the US which were sorted based on the current danger that is based to the American people, Ebola was ranked 9th after Heart Disease and cancer, Traffic Accidents, Guns, Climate Change, WWII, the Flu, ISIS, and ones furniture (SCiLogs. (2014). What the Coverage says about our Culture, the News Media and our definition of what it means to be informed The coverage on Ebola leaves us with a lot of moral questions regarding the American and European cultures. For example, if an epidemic like Ebola breaks out in Europe or the United States, it will be interesting to note that the media reporting or coverage on the epidemic will become more engaged thus leading to a rise to minimal side effects. This clearly depicts the fact that the “...us versus them...” relationship will ultimately change from detachment towards fear of the incoming immigrants from the nations which are affected in both nationalism and race. Our definition of what it means to be informed is prone in knowing the fact that not so many people in Western Countries have been affected by the deadly Ebola virus. However, this definition of being informed will definitely change once American people or other individuals from Western allies become affected by the Ebola virus. It can genuinely be ascertained that most of the journalists covering the Ebola epidemic are not only trying to do what they are capable of doing but also trying to make sense regarding an unprecedented and evolving situation. It is therefore correct to assert that it’s quite difficult for any single piece of media report on Ebola to convey the sheer scale and complexity of what is occurring. This is because the epidemic is not just a science, medical, foreign affairs, or economic story but rather, it is a humanitarian crisis. It can basically be ascertained than the coverage of the Ebola pandemic was a sideline news story until the death of Dr. Brantly (Preston, 2012). Conclusions Drawn from the amount of attention given by the Media to the Ebola issue It is prudent for the media fraternity to regard the latest outbreak of Ebola pandemic as being a global concern which should be given global coverage. It should be noted that no particular problem is normally ever so part and it is quite unfortunate that the Media has opted to exaggerate it. The media should therefore stand to be blamed for making wild and horrifying claims regarding the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. For example, some of the numerous media in the mainstream have actually run some stories in the media hinting at the possibility that the terrorist could ultimately weaponise Ebola (Stimola, 2010). It is prudent for all and sundry to note that there are numerous good reasons as to why the Ebola Pandemic “falls so far down” on the list of the most dreaded diseases. This is due to the reasons that for a start, the Ebola pandemic is relatively limited towards the African region and besides that, the virus is also difficult to transmit as opposed to the common cold and influenza. This is also coupled with the fact that the Ebola virus needs contact with some form of direct contact, secretions and broken skin and mucous membranes. It will be prudent for the media to be fair in their reporting on Ebola. They should give Ebola the coverage it needs and ensure they give it the right attention it requires regardless of where or whom it has affected (Hewlett and Bonnie, 2007). References Forbes. The problem with Ebola in the media. Retrieved on 20th October 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2014/10/11/the-problem-with-ebola-in-the-media/ Hewlett, B & H. Bonnie. (2007). Ebola, culture and politics: The anthropology of an emerging disease. New York: Cengage Learning. Preston, R. (2012). The hot zone. New York: Transworld. SCiLogs. (2014). Covering Ebola. Retrieved on 20th October 2014 from http://www.scilogs.com/from_the_lab_bench/covering-ebola/ Stimola, A. (2010). Ebola. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group. Thomas, E. (2014). This illustration of Ebola coverage shows how problematic media reports can be. Retrieved on 20th October 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/08/ebola-illustration-andre-carrilho_n_5955192.html Read More