With the sudden outbreak of the Ebola virus in Western Africa earlier on this year, there is no doubt that certain examples of the mainstream media of society is going to feed fear into the minds of people through misinterpretations or even fabricated stories based on the events. As a matter of fact, some people have even been tricked into thinking that Ebola can create zombies. This has created much unnecessary fear based off of a disease outbreak that can be put to rest with actual scientific facts.
Myth: Ebola is a “new-age virus” that has arisen to annihilate humanity.
Fact: Ebola has been known to humanity for quite some time; this is not the first occurrence of an outbreak of Ebola. What has caused certain people to think this is because of its sudden news coverage rather than being a common sight in media compared to something such as the seasonal flu. According to the Journal of Infection Diseases, the Ebola virus was first observed in the year 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It definitely is not a recently classified virus in being found thirty-eight years ago. As a matter of fact, it is not the only virus that causes viral hemorrhagic fever. The World Health Organization lists other examples, such as the close relative of the Ebola virus called the Marburg Virus and other viral families such as Flaviviridae. Therefore, Ebola is not some unfamiliar, new virus as it may seem.
Myth: Ebola Virus creates zombies, time to binge on more of The Walking Dead in preparation for a zombie-apocalypse.
Fact: A rather laughable myth regarding the Ebola Virus with no negative comments made against The Walking Dead. This myth started when a satirical site called Big America News published an edited screenshot from the movie titled: The War Z as stated by the British newspaper The Independent. Due to the massive media coverage of the Ebola Virus outbreak, this misconception spread to various social media networks and into the minds of people. In no way does Ebola keep someone partially alive to become a zombie as it “causes the cells [of the body] to explode” and “attacks almost every organ and tissue” according to Dr. Michael Smith from WebMD. Much to the disappointment of the fans of The Walking Dead, the Ebola Virus does not create zombies.
Myth: The Ebola Virus is super contagious and spreads through the air.
Fact: Although known for its high mortality rate, the Ebola Virus is not as transmissible as other pathogens. The origin of this myth likely originates from the movie Outbreak released in 1995. In that movie, an Ebola-like virus called Motaba spreads at a very fast rate through airborne transmission as summarized by contributor Todd Baldridge from IMDb. Due to the impact of that movie, people became frightened at the prospect of its event being potentially real. According to CBCnews, Dr. Michael Gardam, Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the University Health Network in Toronto, stated that "All the epidemiology that we know from 1976 on says there is not any major form of airborne transmission of Ebola” and the WHO states that it is transferred through “close and direct physical contact with infected bodily fluids”. In addition, a mutation enabling the Ebola virus to become airborne is highly unlikely as explained by Scientific American. It can thereby be concluded that this myth is currently untrue and vastly unforeseeable in the near future.
Myth: All of the people travelling to Canada with a fever from the Western Africa region have the Ebola Virus.
Fact: Many diseases that are known to spread in Western Africa result in a fever, not just Ebola. What likely caused this myth is the fear of the fact that the only way for Ebola to spread to other countries is through travelling. According to CBC news, Dr. Todd Hatchette, Director of Virology and Immunology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, states that "At the present time, most of the people who return from Africa with a fever don't have Ebola — they have something more common, like malaria". Quite frankly, Malaria is more of a concern in terms of its ability to spread with 1.2 million cases in 2012 located in Liberia, the country hit worst by the Ebola Virus outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. It is therefore much more likely for a traveller to bring Malaria to Canada than Ebola due to more people being infected by Malaria in Liberia. This myth is thereby untrue, as fever is attributed to so many diseases with the likelihood of Ebola being carried over to Canada be an unlikely prospect.
Myth: An infection from the Ebola Virus means Certain Death.
Fact: Although outbreaks from the Ebola Virus do have a higher mortality rate than other diseases, not everyone dies from it. What likely provoked the start of this myth is the shocking mortality rate of the first Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976, which was 88% (280 deaths out of 318 cases) according to the Centers for Disease Control. However, the mortality rate for the current Ebola outbreak in Western Africa is 36% (5167 deaths out of 14383 cases) as stated by the Centers for Disease Control. Logically, the mortality rate is lower due to higher awareness by health care officials and improved treatment techniques. Knowing that Canada is one of the leading countries in health care and medical science, the chances for someone dying of Ebola Virus in Canada is even lower. This myth is debunked, knowing that the mortality rate is clearly far from 100%.
Although the Ebola Virus is a global health issue, one should not be paranoid about it but informed. Being afraid of Ebola the virus is unproductive in resolving the questions surrounding it and only promotes misunderstanding. The next time that one sees a scary Ebola post on a Facebook feed, it may just be someone wanting to capitalize on the opportunity to make a “viral” post and spread a condition called fear.
Myth: Ebola is a “new-age virus” that has arisen to annihilate humanity.
Fact: Ebola has been known to humanity for quite some time; this is not the first occurrence of an outbreak of Ebola. What has caused certain people to think this is because of its sudden news coverage rather than being a common sight in media compared to something such as the seasonal flu. According to the Journal of Infection Diseases, the Ebola virus was first observed in the year 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It definitely is not a recently classified virus in being found thirty-eight years ago. As a matter of fact, it is not the only virus that causes viral hemorrhagic fever. The World Health Organization lists other examples, such as the close relative of the Ebola virus called the Marburg Virus and other viral families such as Flaviviridae. Therefore, Ebola is not some unfamiliar, new virus as it may seem.
Myth: Ebola Virus creates zombies, time to binge on more of The Walking Dead in preparation for a zombie-apocalypse.
Fact: A rather laughable myth regarding the Ebola Virus with no negative comments made against The Walking Dead. This myth started when a satirical site called Big America News published an edited screenshot from the movie titled: The War Z as stated by the British newspaper The Independent. Due to the massive media coverage of the Ebola Virus outbreak, this misconception spread to various social media networks and into the minds of people. In no way does Ebola keep someone partially alive to become a zombie as it “causes the cells [of the body] to explode” and “attacks almost every organ and tissue” according to Dr. Michael Smith from WebMD. Much to the disappointment of the fans of The Walking Dead, the Ebola Virus does not create zombies.
Myth: The Ebola Virus is super contagious and spreads through the air.
Fact: Although known for its high mortality rate, the Ebola Virus is not as transmissible as other pathogens. The origin of this myth likely originates from the movie Outbreak released in 1995. In that movie, an Ebola-like virus called Motaba spreads at a very fast rate through airborne transmission as summarized by contributor Todd Baldridge from IMDb. Due to the impact of that movie, people became frightened at the prospect of its event being potentially real. According to CBCnews, Dr. Michael Gardam, Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the University Health Network in Toronto, stated that "All the epidemiology that we know from 1976 on says there is not any major form of airborne transmission of Ebola” and the WHO states that it is transferred through “close and direct physical contact with infected bodily fluids”. In addition, a mutation enabling the Ebola virus to become airborne is highly unlikely as explained by Scientific American. It can thereby be concluded that this myth is currently untrue and vastly unforeseeable in the near future.
Myth: All of the people travelling to Canada with a fever from the Western Africa region have the Ebola Virus.
Fact: Many diseases that are known to spread in Western Africa result in a fever, not just Ebola. What likely caused this myth is the fear of the fact that the only way for Ebola to spread to other countries is through travelling. According to CBC news, Dr. Todd Hatchette, Director of Virology and Immunology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, states that "At the present time, most of the people who return from Africa with a fever don't have Ebola — they have something more common, like malaria". Quite frankly, Malaria is more of a concern in terms of its ability to spread with 1.2 million cases in 2012 located in Liberia, the country hit worst by the Ebola Virus outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. It is therefore much more likely for a traveller to bring Malaria to Canada than Ebola due to more people being infected by Malaria in Liberia. This myth is thereby untrue, as fever is attributed to so many diseases with the likelihood of Ebola being carried over to Canada be an unlikely prospect.
Myth: An infection from the Ebola Virus means Certain Death.
Fact: Although outbreaks from the Ebola Virus do have a higher mortality rate than other diseases, not everyone dies from it. What likely provoked the start of this myth is the shocking mortality rate of the first Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976, which was 88% (280 deaths out of 318 cases) according to the Centers for Disease Control. However, the mortality rate for the current Ebola outbreak in Western Africa is 36% (5167 deaths out of 14383 cases) as stated by the Centers for Disease Control. Logically, the mortality rate is lower due to higher awareness by health care officials and improved treatment techniques. Knowing that Canada is one of the leading countries in health care and medical science, the chances for someone dying of Ebola Virus in Canada is even lower. This myth is debunked, knowing that the mortality rate is clearly far from 100%.
Although the Ebola Virus is a global health issue, one should not be paranoid about it but informed. Being afraid of Ebola the virus is unproductive in resolving the questions surrounding it and only promotes misunderstanding. The next time that one sees a scary Ebola post on a Facebook feed, it may just be someone wanting to capitalize on the opportunity to make a “viral” post and spread a condition called fear.