The role of the media in raising public awareness about Ebola is important and legitimate, and headlines serve as a critical form of capital for researchers and advocates — public and private — who are competing for funding. The media can, however, also skew the actual level of risk the disease poses.
The risk of Ebola spreading to the developed world remains low. U.S. President Barack Obama announced his plan Sept. 16 for a humanitarian mission dubbed Operation United Assistance. It has become increasingly clear that such international intervention will be necessary to effectively combat the virus and limit its regional economic, political and social impacts. U.S. troops will have protective equipment and reportedly will not be in direct contact with patients. Their mission of building facilities and providing protective equipment should make it simpler to contain the disease. Such measures will also reduce the risk of Ebola spreading across regional borders as West African countries begin the long process of bringing the outbreak under control.
At the moment, the media's spotlight is focused on the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. This is undoubtedly the worst outbreak of Ebola ever seen; more than 2,600 of the 5,300 patients infected have died. Without external aid the affected region will continue to have extreme difficulties controlling the disease's spread. The three countries at the center of the crisis — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — have poor health-care facilities and lack equipment and personnel, making controlling the outbreak even more difficult. However, the disease typically spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of a person who is infected with or who recently died from Ebola, limiting the disease's ability to proliferate. For developed countries with the appropriate facilities, this mode of transmission makes controlling an outbreak much easier.
The increased attention given to diseases such as Ebola is not all bad, especially if the risks are put in perspective and if it results in greater aid for impacted areas or elevated funding for research. For example, potential Ebola vaccinations and treatments are being fast-tracked, and awareness about the disease has risen over the last several months. But these benefits should not have to come alongside the fear of infection, especially in the developed world.
