The 2014 Ebola epidemic was one of the most publicized events in recent history. News sources from all over the world covered the crisis 24/7. With many varying views on the topic, it was difficult to get an unbiased opinion on the topic. With the competition between these various media sources, much that information was skewed to please particular constituents. This lead to false information to being spread and the epidemic being viewed as a bigger threat than it actually was. Large news networks such as CNN and BBC began to used various tactics to increase ratings. Consequently, it was hard for people to get the full picture of what was actually happening. In order to understand the effects of the Ebola epidemic, one must consider different
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The Ebola virus first appeared in 1976 in central Africa. At the time it was an outbreak amongst animals and the few humans who came in contact with the local animals. Of the 318 people who were exposed to the virus, 280 died (“Chronology of Ebola Virus Outbreaks”, 2014). This shocked the world, as people did not know what the virus was or how to treat it. However, the outbreak was not a world threat as there was little chance of the virus spreading beyond he local villages which surround the Ebola River. This is because the outbreak was in a remote area where there was little migration between the local villages and urban areas. This naturally contained the virus and prevented it from spreading to other parts of the world. Since then, there have been 26 separate outbreaks in central Africa. Approximately 8000 people have succumbed to the disease. The disease is only spread through human to human transmission through direct contact with blood secretions coma, bodily fluids, and other surface materials contaminated with the fluids (“An introduction to Ebola”, 2015). In countries with poor Health …show more content…
Consequentially, this raised the public interest as the public saw Ebola as a bigger threat than it actually was. Other news media sources such as BBC (“Growing Concerns over ‘in the Air’ Transmission of Ebola”, 2014) created Headlines that told the public that the Ebola virus spread through air while scientist had previously discredited that claim (“An introduction to Ebola”, 2015). Such reporting lead to 85% of the American people believing that the disease spread through sneezing or coughing via a Harvard study. This fear lead to more people seeking news coverage of patients as they were seen as bigger threats. It is fair to assume that the public perception was skewed by the media as much of the reporting had no scientific basis. If the public had known the scientific background and the precautions the US government had taken to prevent an outbreak, this over reaction could have been
The Ebola virus first appeared in 1976 in central Africa. At the time it was an outbreak amongst animals and the few humans who came in contact with the local animals. Of the 318 people who were exposed to the virus, 280 died (“Chronology of Ebola Virus Outbreaks”, 2014). This shocked the world, as people did not know what the virus was or how to treat it. However, the outbreak was not a world threat as there was little chance of the virus spreading beyond he local villages which surround the Ebola River. This is because the outbreak was in a remote area where there was little migration between the local villages and urban areas. This naturally contained the virus and prevented it from spreading to other parts of the world. Since then, there have been 26 separate outbreaks in central Africa. Approximately 8000 people have succumbed to the disease. The disease is only spread through human to human transmission through direct contact with blood secretions coma, bodily fluids, and other surface materials contaminated with the fluids (“An introduction to Ebola”, 2015). In countries with poor Health …show more content…
Consequentially, this raised the public interest as the public saw Ebola as a bigger threat than it actually was. Other news media sources such as BBC (“Growing Concerns over ‘in the Air’ Transmission of Ebola”, 2014) created Headlines that told the public that the Ebola virus spread through air while scientist had previously discredited that claim (“An introduction to Ebola”, 2015). Such reporting lead to 85% of the American people believing that the disease spread through sneezing or coughing via a Harvard study. This fear lead to more people seeking news coverage of patients as they were seen as bigger threats. It is fair to assume that the public perception was skewed by the media as much of the reporting had no scientific basis. If the public had known the scientific background and the precautions the US government had taken to prevent an outbreak, this over reaction could have been