How Ebola ? ?the Kardashian of diseases? ? is stealing attention from illnesses that kill more people

[Gemineye]

Washington Post
By Abby Phillip September 5 at 10:04 AM

The Ebola virus has killed more than 1,900 people in four West African nations, and it has left the international community scrambling to contain it.

But as deadly diseases go, Ebola isn't nearly as contagious as tuberculosis, which can be spread through the air. And it isn't as deadly as HIV/AIDS.

It's no malaria, which in Liberia killed 1,725 people and sickened more than 1.4 million in 2012. Cholera was responsible for 1,146 deaths...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...tention-from-illnesses-that-kill-more-people/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

A very thought-provoking article.

 

[mac68DC]

Re: How Ebola ? ?the Kardashian of diseases? ? is stealing attention from illnesses that kill more people

These comparisons do not make any logical sense to me. If we went back in time we could say that HIV.Malaria etc posed very little risk by that logic. Comparisons should only be done once this epidemic is moved off its exponential growth pattern.

I find these types of articles very harmful and misleading.

Makes no sense to me at all.

Actually, I fail to find a legitimate point to the article. I don't get it - so we are paying too much attention to the Ebola epidemic? Really? So the article is advocating we pay less attention to Ebola and more to other problems? What?

 

[Pirante]

Re: How Ebola ? ?the Kardashian of diseases? ? is stealing attention from illnesses that kill more people

I do not really think the comparisons stand up in this case ither.

Ebola may not be more deadly than HIV, but it is much more contagious.
It may not be more contagious than TB. But it is much more deadly.

So you cant really make a comparison there, its apples to oranges. Its a whole different kind of epidemic and its pretty scary in my opinion. After all, it appears to be just as deadly as H5N1, and is making better progress right now among humans than H5N1 ever has. It may not be spreading as fast, but Asop's turtle didnt move that quick, and we know how that turned out.

 

[Lizw]

Re: How Ebola ? ?the Kardashian of diseases? ? is stealing attention from illnesses that kill more people

I agree, it's comparing apples to oranges. But I've wondered the same thing after seeing day after day of reports here of thousands killed by malaria, dengue, enteroviruses and others.

I think part of the pathological fear of Ebola is the hemorrhagic aspect of it. The thought of bleeding from every orifice just seems to flip many people's hysteria switch. But it may also be partly that for most of us, it's 'over there.' It's killing people that we can safely regard most of the time as Not Like Us. We don't get sick like that, unless we're stupid enough to go over there to try to help (and then it would be better if we stayed there and didn't bring the bad juju home with us). I have to wonder how this would have played out if a returning missionary had brought this to the US before it ever spread in West Africa. It would be our disease if that had happened, and while there would certainly still have been considerable panic and hysteria over it, there would not be that sense of blame against Americans who contracted it.

As it is, I do agree that it's important not to let Ebola overshadow the other medical needs in the world. How MSF is managing the demands on their resources is beyond me.

 

[Emily]

Re: How Ebola ? ?the Kardashian of diseases? ? is stealing attention from illnesses that kill more people

I like this Post article. To clarify, the off-putting Kardashian reference was not the author's and not the title of the article. That was from a tweet she saw.

More here:

http://chrisblattman.com/2014/08/26/ebola-kardashian-diseases/

I think it's good to consider whether or not one is making a bad situation worse by overstatement of risk and the Post reporter, Abby Phillip, does acknowledge that while also clearly describing the horrible consequences of the disease for West Africa.

Liz, I agree MSF is amazing. They are still working in Haiti, along with other NGO's.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/20/world/americas/un-struggles-to-stem-haiti-cholera-epidemic.html

They all depend on private support.

 

[Lizw]

Re: How Ebola ? ?the Kardashian of diseases? ? is stealing attention from illnesses that kill more people

If I were younger and my skills were current, I'd be working with them somewhere (ex-EMT). As it is, all I can do is contribute money. I let my parents talk me out of joining the Peace Corps in 1963 and I've never stopped regretting it.

 

[Lynda]

Re: How Ebola ? ?the Kardashian of diseases? ? is stealing attention from illnesses that kill more people

.
Makes no sense to me at all.

Remember the kids' TV ditty, "One of these Things is not like the Other"...:star:

How is Ebola different from any bacterial disease, and how is it different from a bacterial disease caused by eating or drinking feces? How is it different from a disease that can only cause you to be infected by a blood transfusion or sexual contact? Every single one of these is profoundly different from Ebola.

I don't get the comparisons, not even remotely. It's just...silly.