Mike's Musings: Will Everyone PLEASE Shut Up About Ebola?
The way the media and politicians are going on about it, it is only a matter of time before this Ebola outbreak becomes a modern day Black Death (which killed around 75-100 million people from 1346-1353, including 30-60% of Europe's population). In reality, it's more like the O.J. Simpson trial: a moderately interesting news story that doesn't deserve a fraction of the coverage it gets.
Don't get me wrong. Ebola is a deadly disease with a fatality rate between 25 and 90% (admittedly, not a very specific statistic). There is also no standard treatment except to try and alleviate the symptoms. It is also highly contagious.
It sounds very scary, but here's the thing: transmission is difficult. In order to become infected, you have to have contact with the blood or body fluids of someone who is infected...and that's only AFTER they begin to show symptoms. If a person isn't showing symptoms, they're not contagious (and if they are, they're going to head to the hospital because they're going to become very sick very quickly). Ebola isn't the common cold. It's not going to be passed around the office as if it had a mind of its own. The virus needs a host to survive. While you can get it if you're coughed on by someone who is infected (in theory), it's not airborne. It doesn't just hang in the air waiting for someone to infect.
So why is everyone terrified of this Ebola outbreak, especially when there are a number of other more deadly diseases out there (such as the flu, which kills far more people every year)? For one thing, it's devastating West Africa. Thousands have become infected and many have died, and it has only just started to show signs of slowing down. The CDC estimates that it will take at least six months before it's under control, and will cost billions.
Such an event, despite there being confirmed cases here, is unlikely to happen in the United States. This is for a number of reasons. First, we know about Ebola, which wasn't the case in Guinea, where epidemiologists suspect it began. Ebola outbreaks have flared up occasionally since the first known outbreak in 1976, but not in that area. Second, many in that area live in extreme poverty with limited access to running water, much less decent healthcare. There are also traditional burial practices that involve kissing and touching the bodies of the dead. Finally, the political and healthcare infrastructures in those countries are feeble and lack the ability to deal with a crisis like this.
It was only a matter of time before Ebola reached our shores. But the likelihood of an outbreak on par with what's going on in West Africa is infinitely small. We may have our problems with healthcare, but that's mostly due to the greed and aggressive behavior of pharmaceuticals and insurance companies. On a technical level, we are more than capable of preventing an outbreak. A minor slip-up here and there is to be expected (we are, after all, human beings), but we are not going to have an Ebola epidemic here.
Why is Ebola dominating the news these days, and why are people suddenly scared out of their minds? While we may not be faced with an outbreak of Ebola, our society is in a prime position for a culture of fear.
For one thing, our smartphones enable limitless access to media. The news, smelling a story, is aggressively pursuing the Ebola and positioning it like the apocalypse for the sole reason of keeping people tuning in. Fear sells, and there is a lot of money to be made in getting people scared out of their minds. Social commentators are adding flame to the fire for the same reason: they want ratings. The impending date of a big election exacerbates the situation further. Politicians up for election want votes, and to do that, they need to show their constituents that they're doing something about the outbreak. Which is why we have people like the Louisiana attorney general not allowing the family of Thomas Duncan, the single person in the US who has died of Ebola to bring his ashes into Louisiana to dump them into a hazardous waste landfill. It's a decision so stupid that if it wasn't doing more harm than good, it would be absolutely hilarious. And the story of the Texas town that was quarantined due to a family of five being infected is false (it was first posted on a fake news site). The real number of people infected with Ebola that are in the U.S. is four. That's hardly worth double checking on the news. There are more people with more dangerous diseases that come into the U.S. every year, and we don't hear about them because the news can't make money off of it.
There are members of the media who are tossing out theories about what could happen with Ebola down the line, but they range from the unlikely to the absurd. Yes, Ebola is evolving. All viruses do. But Ebola evolves very slowly, so it's not going to suddenly be able to hang in the air like the common cold any time soon. The worst people are perpetuating the theory that someone is going to "weaponize" Ebola. In theory, that's possible, but highly unlikely to the point where it's closer to science fiction than plausible. I'm sure there are those who would like nothing better than to set loose weaponized Ebola in the U.S., but they lack the expertise, not to mention the facilities, to do so. More than likely, those who attempt to make Ebola into some sort of weapon are more of a risk to themselves than us.
The men and women who are using the Ebola epidemic for their own gain should be ashamed of themselves. What they're doing is sleazy, unethical and downright sadistic. Hazmat suits and transferring patients in plastic bubbles do nothing but make the panic worse. Masks, rubber gloves and quarantining are fine, as is remembering to wash your hands. Want to know why we haven't heard any more about the people who were on the plane with the man who had Ebola? Because they're not infected. They were perfectly safe. And banning flights from West Africa from coming to the US is pointless since there are no direct flights from there to the U.S. Stories and theories like these create buzz, but they're at best overreactions and at worst needlessly scaring the hell out of just about everyone.
But what is a film critic doing shooting down claims about Ebola? Is he a doctor? No, I'm not. But my dad is, and my brother is doing his residency. My mother is also working in the medical field. I also attended a lecture by a man who studies Ebola for a living (and, ironically, worked with my dad when he was just out of medical school).
The bottom line is that, at least in the U.S., the Ebola scare is all hype. It's been packaged and dubbed with catch phrases and lingo. In other words, it's fear designed as a product. Nothing more.
Don't get me wrong. Ebola is a deadly disease with a fatality rate between 25 and 90% (admittedly, not a very specific statistic). There is also no standard treatment except to try and alleviate the symptoms. It is also highly contagious.
It sounds very scary, but here's the thing: transmission is difficult. In order to become infected, you have to have contact with the blood or body fluids of someone who is infected...and that's only AFTER they begin to show symptoms. If a person isn't showing symptoms, they're not contagious (and if they are, they're going to head to the hospital because they're going to become very sick very quickly). Ebola isn't the common cold. It's not going to be passed around the office as if it had a mind of its own. The virus needs a host to survive. While you can get it if you're coughed on by someone who is infected (in theory), it's not airborne. It doesn't just hang in the air waiting for someone to infect.
So why is everyone terrified of this Ebola outbreak, especially when there are a number of other more deadly diseases out there (such as the flu, which kills far more people every year)? For one thing, it's devastating West Africa. Thousands have become infected and many have died, and it has only just started to show signs of slowing down. The CDC estimates that it will take at least six months before it's under control, and will cost billions.
Such an event, despite there being confirmed cases here, is unlikely to happen in the United States. This is for a number of reasons. First, we know about Ebola, which wasn't the case in Guinea, where epidemiologists suspect it began. Ebola outbreaks have flared up occasionally since the first known outbreak in 1976, but not in that area. Second, many in that area live in extreme poverty with limited access to running water, much less decent healthcare. There are also traditional burial practices that involve kissing and touching the bodies of the dead. Finally, the political and healthcare infrastructures in those countries are feeble and lack the ability to deal with a crisis like this.
It was only a matter of time before Ebola reached our shores. But the likelihood of an outbreak on par with what's going on in West Africa is infinitely small. We may have our problems with healthcare, but that's mostly due to the greed and aggressive behavior of pharmaceuticals and insurance companies. On a technical level, we are more than capable of preventing an outbreak. A minor slip-up here and there is to be expected (we are, after all, human beings), but we are not going to have an Ebola epidemic here.
Why is Ebola dominating the news these days, and why are people suddenly scared out of their minds? While we may not be faced with an outbreak of Ebola, our society is in a prime position for a culture of fear.
For one thing, our smartphones enable limitless access to media. The news, smelling a story, is aggressively pursuing the Ebola and positioning it like the apocalypse for the sole reason of keeping people tuning in. Fear sells, and there is a lot of money to be made in getting people scared out of their minds. Social commentators are adding flame to the fire for the same reason: they want ratings. The impending date of a big election exacerbates the situation further. Politicians up for election want votes, and to do that, they need to show their constituents that they're doing something about the outbreak. Which is why we have people like the Louisiana attorney general not allowing the family of Thomas Duncan, the single person in the US who has died of Ebola to bring his ashes into Louisiana to dump them into a hazardous waste landfill. It's a decision so stupid that if it wasn't doing more harm than good, it would be absolutely hilarious. And the story of the Texas town that was quarantined due to a family of five being infected is false (it was first posted on a fake news site). The real number of people infected with Ebola that are in the U.S. is four. That's hardly worth double checking on the news. There are more people with more dangerous diseases that come into the U.S. every year, and we don't hear about them because the news can't make money off of it.
There are members of the media who are tossing out theories about what could happen with Ebola down the line, but they range from the unlikely to the absurd. Yes, Ebola is evolving. All viruses do. But Ebola evolves very slowly, so it's not going to suddenly be able to hang in the air like the common cold any time soon. The worst people are perpetuating the theory that someone is going to "weaponize" Ebola. In theory, that's possible, but highly unlikely to the point where it's closer to science fiction than plausible. I'm sure there are those who would like nothing better than to set loose weaponized Ebola in the U.S., but they lack the expertise, not to mention the facilities, to do so. More than likely, those who attempt to make Ebola into some sort of weapon are more of a risk to themselves than us.
The men and women who are using the Ebola epidemic for their own gain should be ashamed of themselves. What they're doing is sleazy, unethical and downright sadistic. Hazmat suits and transferring patients in plastic bubbles do nothing but make the panic worse. Masks, rubber gloves and quarantining are fine, as is remembering to wash your hands. Want to know why we haven't heard any more about the people who were on the plane with the man who had Ebola? Because they're not infected. They were perfectly safe. And banning flights from West Africa from coming to the US is pointless since there are no direct flights from there to the U.S. Stories and theories like these create buzz, but they're at best overreactions and at worst needlessly scaring the hell out of just about everyone.
But what is a film critic doing shooting down claims about Ebola? Is he a doctor? No, I'm not. But my dad is, and my brother is doing his residency. My mother is also working in the medical field. I also attended a lecture by a man who studies Ebola for a living (and, ironically, worked with my dad when he was just out of medical school).
The bottom line is that, at least in the U.S., the Ebola scare is all hype. It's been packaged and dubbed with catch phrases and lingo. In other words, it's fear designed as a product. Nothing more.
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