2014 Lie of the Year: Exaggerations about Ebola

….fear of (Ebola) stretched to every corner of America this fall, stoked by exaggerated claims from politicians and pundits. They said Ebola was easy to catch, that illegal immigrants may be carrying the virus across the southern border, that it was all part of a government or corporate conspiracy.

The claims -- all wrong -- distorted the debate about a serious public health issue. Together, they earn our Lie of the Year for 2014.

2014 Lie of the Year: Exaggerations about Ebola

West Africa's Ebola epidemic started last December. By March 2014, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was begging for help from the international community (reported here on ATS). But like the rest of America, most ATSers ignored the problem - until it could be used as political fodder for the mid-term elections. Suddenly, from August to October, Ebola was the coming apocalypse. In America and on ATS too. Then, when the elections were over, Ebola disappeared from the headlines and all the sheeple's radar. In America and on ATS too.

…."Americans spent March through July thinking that the outbreak was no threat at all, then from August to October, it was the apocalypse," said Stephen Gire, a researcher who has been to West Africa and is studying the Ebola genome at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. "And now in December, a year after the first case of Ebola infected a young Guinean, Americans are complaining that it was all ‘overhyped.’

But guess what folks? Ebola didn't go away just because the Republicans took the Senate. True, there are only [sic] 18,464 cases and 6,841 deaths. True, the numbers are falling in Liberia - but cases are surging in Sierra Leone.

There is a real risk the world is facing an endless Ebola epidemic.

Endless Ebola Epidemic? That's The 'Risk We Face Now,' CDC Says

…."That's exactly the risk we face now. That Ebola will simmer along, become endemic and be a problem for Africa and the world, for years to come," Frieden tells NPR. "That is what I fear most."

We don't know enough about Ebola. We do know this West African epidemic spread through sustained human-to-human transmission. We know family members and healthcare workers physically close to infected patients are most at-risk. We suspect bats are the reservoir but we don't know for sure. We know Ebola outbreaks are directly related to industrial activity and habitat/environmental disruption. But we do not know if or how the Ebola virus survives in the environment.

During an outbreak, those at higher risk of infection are health workers, family members and others in close contact with sick people and deceased patients.

Yale researchers reveal Ebola virus spreads in social clusters

Ecology of Marburg and Ebola Viruses: Speculations and Directions for Future Research

…An interesting possibility is that filoviruses (like Ebola) may be arthropod or plant viruses, with non—blood-feeding arthropods transmitting the virus to intermediate hosts or humans during oral ingestion or envenomation. ….Such viruses may have separate life cycles or may give rise to virulent strains by mutation.

Chopping Down African Forests Increases Human Exposure to Ebola

Environmental and social influences on emerging infectious diseases: past, present and future

Ebola's ability to survive in the environment poorly understood

….The authors argue that while the prevailing thinking is that the environment is not the main exposure route for Ebola virus disease, it would be "imprudent to dismiss the potential of environmental transmission without further evidence."

They conclude that Ebola's persistence outside the body needs more careful investigation, through environmental persistence studies and microbial risk assessments. ….

So where do we go from here? Just rail against the idiots who make the decisions and the idiots who elect them? Keep our fingers in the dike, hoping to keep viral and microbial realities at bay in West Africa? Waste more of our energy stating the obvious? [We mess with our planet at our own peril. A very few people, maybe 1%, live protected and pocket the big bucks - the rest of us die hard and die poor.]

Meanwhile, Ebola and a host of other infectious diseases keep mutating and spreading. Besides bird flu (already endemic in Asia and Egypt, and spreading to North America), the one to watch is malaria.

Malaria could be Most Dangerous Health Problem after Ebola, say Health Experts

….The disease has been spreading in Myanmar and other area near the Mekong River. According to some reports, the disease will become global healthy emergency if it enters India and Africa. Eisa Hamid, an epidemiologist working with the United Nations in Myanma, said that the opportunity to stop the disease has been missed.

….According to health experts, Myanmar currently has largest numbers of malaria patients. ….Myanmar could play a major role in spreading the disease to India and Africa and if the disease enters these areas, then it could be very difficult to stop its spread.

~ sofi

a reply to: soficrow

Ebola disappeared from the headlines and all the sheeple's radar. In America and on ATS too.

Not just Ebola. Once debate has done all it can and everyone gets a chance to vent, our attention spans have had enough. The TV generation, the video game generation. The whats new, whats breaking, 15 minutes of fame generation is easily bored by anything thats not "new".

Is that "new and improved" conditioning from advertising? The latest comic book hero movie? The newest release of iPhone APP?

Thats conditioning by design, and theres your sign.

Now whats the newest tragedy, I got a few minutes before I have to change my mind.

As much as I hate the thought I don't think that people will ever care about non-global pandemics until they are global :\

I hope that after such a pandemic, though, people might care about the localized ones more, and not just because we're interconnected.

a reply to: intrptr

...Once debate has done all it can and everyone gets a chance to vent

S& Thanks for your thoughts. Too true. But one thing - venting, panicking and pointing fingers is not debate. The "old" ATS did a much better job of maintaining the illusion of intellectual rigor. imho.

a reply to: soficrow

The "old" ATS did a much better job of maintaining the illusion of intellectual rigor. imho.

It wasn't illusory. Thats why I came here.

Its still here, just clouded over by "chemtrails" and besieged by "lurking" disrupticons.

originally posted by: framedragged
As much as I hate the thought I don't think that people will ever care about non-global pandemics until they are global :\

I hope that after such a pandemic, though, people might care about the localized ones more, and not just because we're interconnected.

True, but it's still the wrong focus to look at disease effect rather than environmental cause. ....By the time we get there, it's much too late to fix.

Thanks btw - S&

The worst claims and panic about Ebola I ever read was right here on ATS despite all the facts stated by the medical experts the nonsense continued.

Over here in the UK i don't remember any "panic news stories" but I do remember folks complaining that it wasn't been adequately reported. Looks like the UK news outlets got it just about right......shhhh mustn't say that on ATS must we !!!

a reply to: soficrow

Interesting point of view and it immediately reminded me of an article I read earlier:

More recently, they have tried to panic us into agreeing to mass vaccination with untested, likely toxic medications to try to justify Obama’s War on Ebola. Only no one seems to believe them. The increasingly ridiculous Dr Margaret Chan, the Director General of WHO, who was guilty of criminal mis-conduct five years ago when she bowed to Big Pharma wishes and declared a non-existent Swine Flu as global “Pandemic Level 6,” tries to utter terrifying statements about Ebola, but nobody much is paying attention.

journal-neo.org...

The whole article itself is worth a read btw

yes, the fear of the disease was the only thing that actually grew exponentially, contrary to the dire warnings and cautions given, some of which i bought into myself.

dammit double post. sorry.

a reply to: Zcustosmorum

Thanks for your interest. True, we dodged a bullet on the Swine Flu Pandemic - in the West - because it had been circulating here for a good while and most of us had some immunity. Nations and people in the East weren't quite so lucky though.

imho - The relevant conspiracy is the big picture - the corporate strategy to hide the health impacts of industrialization, contamination, pollution, 'modern' civilization. Not the fact that vaccines are the only weapons in our arsenal against the new diseases we create. Too much focus there on one tree methinks.

If they made sh1tloads of money with h1n1 that is flu then i would not suprize one bit if they will make it annual thing even, just change the names of illness and the shot u must take or die etc, ofc for cost.

Ya, well say what you want and believe what you want to believe. Why then are hospitals checking all patients for ebola even in hospitals far removed from this non-disease...and pamphlets all over and info on the hospital info channel...

originally posted by: RoScoLaz4
yes, the fear of the disease was the only thing that actually grew exponentially, contrary to the dire warnings and cautions given, some of which i bought into myself.

Not true - the exponential growth is pretty much exactly what was predicted. Check out ikonklast's charts comparing the predictions with actual case numbers.

You're right about the fear factor though - it was ridiculous, generated and stimulated for political purpose. Obscured and clouded the real issues, and the fact that Ebola truly is a serious public health issue.

...Fact is, Ebola is just one of many diseases that's resurfacing and mutating due to so-called "development." Nevermind antibiotic resistance. For example, one big problem is that malaria is becoming resistant to treatment.

So besides all the 'new' incurable, untreatable diseases, our old treatments for old diseases aren't working any more. imho - Instead of "making war" on disease and trying to "stay ahead" of the new mutations, we need to rethink our whole 'medical' paradigm.

a reply to: soficrow

yeah, i love how ebola was THE s**t to be afraid of, for a while. it was the looming boogieman, and the source of much doom porn....and then once it was realized that it wasn't as effective as a fear tool, it quietly disappeared..

it actually faded from the spotlight BEFORE the elections.

So where do we go from here?

i say we take off....nuke the site from orbit - it's the only way to be sure..

of course, i jest....personally, i think the affected areas should be sealed off..i think air traffic from africa should be grounded until the situation is completely under control...

I would like to add a different Lie of the year. Try this one. "If you like your Doctor, you can keep your Doctor"."The cost of your health care will be less expensive". I think these combined would make a better lie of the year. Since it is coming from someone that has direct impact on just about everyone in America.

I absolutely love how Obama's restrictions on reporting Ebola cases [if they are not verified] has worked to make people believe it is not really a problem. Well done, it worked.
I read newspapers from that area directly and another good source is reddit's /r/ebola to find out that Ebola is still creating havoc.

I wouldn't call the below an exaggeration or fear mongering.

As of Monday, there were 18,464 confirmed cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, with 6,841 deaths, according to the World Health Organization, far more than from all the previous Ebola outbreaks combined.

www.nytimes.com...

I understand that when you hear nothing, it seems that nothing is wrong.
I also understand that a lot of people compare malaria with Ebola, which is like comparing a fish to a cow.


Ebola is very much still about and there is always a chance it could mutate; but even without mutation, it is a bummer to live with for people in those regions because there isn't enough medicine to go round and the death rate is ~60%-70%

It is almost like the plague, if someone in your family had it and you cared for them, chances are you will be a goner too.

There are also people in other countries that have Ebola, like the Italian, who apparently is doing better.

Basically nothing has changed about Ebola since people here were worried on ATS, apart form two things:

1. Newspapers aren't allowed to report possible cases
2. No american is ill at the moment

So I wouldn't as of yet call others gullible or scared for no reason. S4it can still hit the fan big time...and if it doesn't - GOOD!

Meanwhile thousands of REAL people are dying and suffering somewhere in 'brown-land' but it is so far removed from those calling Ebola a 'scare' that it just doesn't count

originally posted by: Hecate666
I absolutely love how Obama's restrictions on reporting Ebola cases [if they are not verified] has worked to make people believe it is not really a problem. Well done, it worked.
I read newspapers from that area directly and another good source is reddit's /r/ebola to find out that Ebola is still creating havoc.

I wouldn't call the below an exaggeration or fear mongering.

As of Monday, there were 18,464 confirmed cases in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, with 6,841 deaths, according to the World Health Organization, far more than from all the previous Ebola outbreaks combined.

www.nytimes.com...

I understand that when you hear nothing, it seems that nothing is wrong.
I also understand that a lot of people compare malaria with Ebola, which is like comparing a fish to a cow.


Ebola is very much still about and there is always a chance it could mutate; but even without mutation, it is a bummer to live with for people in those regions because there isn't enough medicine to go round and the death rate is ~60%-70%

It is almost like the plague, if someone in your family had it and you cared for them, chances are you will be a goner too.

There are also people in other countries that have Ebola, like the Italian, who apparently is doing better.

Basically nothing has changed about Ebola since people here were worried on ATS, apart form two things:

1. Newspapers aren't allowed to report possible cases 2. No american is ill at the moment

So I wouldn't as of yet call others gullible or scared for no reason. S4it can still hit the fan big time...and if it doesn't - GOOD!

Meanwhile thousands of REAL people are dying and suffering somewhere in 'brown-land' but it is so far removed from those calling Ebola a 'scare' that it just doesn't count

I have to agree that there is a covert cover-up of the Ebola patients in America, that is NOT being reported.
Additional proof that the Obama Administration is screwing up ( like we need more evidence of incompetence and corruption) is the pathetic failure of the CDC's admission of Ebola being airborne (can you say aerosol?), and the ineffectiveness of this years (and last years) Flu vaccine.

I am guessing this disease will spread for thirty or more years... no cure or vaccine available. Aids has been happening since the 1980s. Ebola is a fire burning through the people in the third world countries. It will probably depopulate Africa, India, China, Mexico before it is over. There is a reason for sanitation and indoor plumbing. Over crowded dirty living conditions spell apocalypse for them.

a reply to: soficrow

yes i'll rephrase that, the growth into europe and america etc was what i meant.