05-03-2003, 05:41 PM | #21 |
Zartan
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I agree with Arvon and pritchke, but think Willow has a point - I do believe it necessary to report this in the media so that people most at risk are aware of the symptoms - but certainly as far as the UK press goes (and I imagine in other countries it's similar) it has been completely overdone and seems to be intent on stirring up panic which is helpful to no-one.
To whoever mentioned the plague - yes it is endemic in parts of the US and most of the southern hemisphere and the WHO reports between 1000 and 3000 cases of plague a year. For those who don't know, bubonic and pneumonic plague are both infections by a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis - bubonic is the result of initial transmission of the bacteria to the bloodstream of humans from rats via the flea, and pneumonic is the same bacteria spread by aerosol means - ie sneezing or coughing, so infection starts in the respiratory system. Pneumonic infection is more serious and has a more or less 100% death rate if untreated, and bubonic has an untreated mortality rate of around 50% (although being bacterial can be treated if caught early enough). Compared to a 3.5% mortality rate for SARS. For those interested, the vast majority of pneumonic plague cases in humans are the result of being sneezed on by infected housecats. So there you go. [ 05-03-2003, 05:42 PM: Message edited by: Epona ]
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05-03-2003, 05:46 PM | #22 | |
Gold Dragon
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Quote:
Edit: And we can actually predict the severity of the new flu. With better accuracy than the weather too. [/QUOTE]I disagree. The media is not a good source of education. Although education about SARS is needed, the media has a great talent for blowing situations out of proportion. Granted SARS is a new problem, but it is nowhere near as deadly as something like Ebola, yet SARS has created much more direct and indirect problems because of the media.
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05-03-2003, 05:51 PM | #23 |
Iron Throne Cult
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Weither the media is making too much of this or not, this should not be taken lightly. It can still hurt many people and has killed so don't go into the open air and inhale large amounts of it.
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05-03-2003, 06:23 PM | #24 | ||
Apophis
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[quote]Originally posted by Animal:
Quote:
And comparing SARS with ebola is just as invalid as comparing malaria with the flu. If ebola were to strike the western world with its massive media corporations I promise you you will hear more about ebola than you have ever heard of SARS. Quote:
If anyone want pure information about the virus/disease/research I would suggest a visit to the WHO (http://www.who.int/en/) or the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/) website. [img]smile.gif[/img] You will not get any alerts like the one Ziroc posted there though. So use the TV or the morning paper for the alerts and basic information. Edit: Interesting. The parenthesis removed the auto-URL. [ 05-03-2003, 06:24 PM: Message edited by: WillowIX ]
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05-03-2003, 06:27 PM | #25 |
Zartan
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Willow I entirely agree that the reason the media acts the way it does is to sell papers or get viewer ratings up to increase their advertising revenue. But I still don't think it's right or moral to create a panic amongst people who believe everything they read in the papers, which was more the point I was trying to make.
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05-03-2003, 06:33 PM | #26 |
Gold Dragon
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Education and information are two different things. While it would be nice to assume that everyone who reads or watches a news story about SARS is able to filter out the media's interpretation of it, it's just not going to happen and there lies the biggest problem with communicating information through the media. It's not reliable.
I agree that educating people and providing accurate information about SARS is a necessity, but I feel the media is incapable of doing so without causing mass hysteria. The economy in Toronto has lost an estimated $1 billion because of the SARS scare,not the virus itself, but the panic caused by the media. I wasn't comparing SARS to Ebola, just comparing the media's effect when reporting both.
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05-03-2003, 06:35 PM | #27 | |
Apophis
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05-03-2003, 06:38 PM | #28 | |
Apophis
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But IMO you canīt compare reports of SARS and ebola in the media either. Ebola has never struck anywhere outside Africa and probably never will. And even the outbreaks in Africa is very localized and appears on roughly the same places.
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05-03-2003, 06:47 PM | #29 |
Gold Dragon
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I was simply stating that the mainstream media is not a good source for relaying information of this type due to its penchant for over exaggerating the facts. Most people are more likely to read a story entitled "SARS kills ten more last night" versus a Q&A about it. Since the media is interested in selling copies the facts give way to sensationalism.
What is it that we are disagreeing about again? I forget.
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05-03-2003, 06:54 PM | #30 | |
Apophis
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[ 05-03-2003, 06:55 PM: Message edited by: WillowIX ] |
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