[The wanderings of the communication on the Ebola virus disease]
- PMID: 27726104
- DOI: 10.1007/s13149-016-0524-z
[The wanderings of the communication on the Ebola virus disease]
Abstract
For two reasons, communication is one of the major tools in the fight against any Ebola epidemics. Firstly, because Ebola is one of the most easily preventable of all infectious diseases and the thorough application of health-protection measures by the community of the sick persons is the best tool to fight any Ebola epidemic. Secondly, because during the two dozens of known Ebola epidemics health care workers have often met with people's skepticism, or even hostility. However, our review of Ebola communication, as defined by WHO since 2013, shows that it has been marked by a series of errors, as well from a strategic perspective as in its concrete deployment. The same communication messages and tools have been used in non-epidemic and epidemic countries. A general ban on hunting has been promoted, while only 2% of sub-Saharan Africans live in areas inhabited by the bats that are the reservoir of the Ebola virus and while it is not proven that hunting is a major risk of infection. Erroneous or inappropriate messages have contributed to doubts and created anxiety. To be effective, Ebola communication should be based on education about the disease, meaning explanation of its cause, its transmission and its prevention.
Keywords: Africa; Bushmeat; CDC; Communication; EBV; Ebola virus disease; Guinea; Hunting; Liberia; ONUCI; Plan; Red-Cross; Sierra Leone; Togo; USAID; Unicef; WHO.
Similar articles
- Lessons of Risk Communication and Health Promotion - West Africa and United States.MMWR Suppl. 2016 Jul 8;65(3):68-74. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.su6503a10.MMWR Suppl. 2016.PMID: 27386834
- Foreign Medical Teams in support of the Ebola outbreak: a UK military model of pre-deployment training and assurance.J R Army Med Corps. 2016 Jun;162(3):163-8. doi: 10.1136/jramc-2016-000620.J R Army Med Corps. 2016.PMID: 27231284
- Update: Ebola virus disease epidemic--West Africa, January 2015.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2015 Feb 6;64(4):109-10.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2015.PMID: 25654613Free PMC article.
- Ebola virus disease - pathogenesis, clinical presentation and management.Folia Med Cracov. 2014;54(3):49-55.Folia Med Cracov. 2014.PMID: 25694095Review.
- What clinicians should know about the 2014 Ebola outbreak.Mayo Clin Proc. 2014 Dec;89(12):1710-7. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.10.010. Epub 2014 Oct 30.Mayo Clin Proc. 2014.PMID: 25467644Review.
Cited by
- Erroneous Communication Messages on COVID-19 in Africa.Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 Aug;103(2):587-589. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0540. Epub 2020 Jun 3.Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020.PMID: 32500850Free PMC article.
- Retrospective Comparison of Nigeria's Emergency Response Between the 2014 Ebola Outbreak and 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.Cureus. 2023 Aug 29;15(8):e44300. doi: 10.7759/cureus.44300. eCollection 2023 Aug.Cureus. 2023.PMID: 37779755Free PMC article.Review.
- Towards a genomics-informed, real-time, global pathogen surveillance system.Nat Rev Genet. 2018 Jan;19(1):9-20. doi: 10.1038/nrg.2017.88. Epub 2017 Nov 13.Nat Rev Genet. 2018.PMID: 29129921Free PMC article.Review.
- Understanding Ebola virus and other zoonotic transmission risks through human-bat contacts: Exploratory study on knowledge, attitudes and practices in Southern Cameroon.Zoonoses Public Health. 2019 May;66(3):288-295. doi: 10.1111/zph.12563. Epub 2019 Jan 24.Zoonoses Public Health. 2019.PMID: 30677236Free PMC article.
- [For a communication addressing populations' health literacy].Med Trop Sante Int. 2022 Sep 28;2(3):mtsi.v2i3.2022.185. doi: 10.48327/mtsi.v2i3.2022.185. eCollection 2022 Sep 30.Med Trop Sante Int. 2022.PMID: 36284560Free PMC article.French.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous
