Ebola, Social Media & The Fight To Contain Contagion

EBOLA, SOCIAL MEDIA & THE FIGHT TO CONTAIN CONTAGION Called "the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak of Ebola virus disease in history" by the United Nations (UN). Here is a look at the PROS and CONS of African social media use in the age of Ebola. WHAT IS EBOLA? An INCURABLE and CONTAGIOUS VIRUS that causes hemorrhagic fever (internal and external bleeding) It is NOT contagious during the 2-3 week incubation period It is transmitted through direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids and body organs FATALITY rate is 50-90% NOT AIRBORNE WHY IS THIS EBOLA OUTBREAK DIFFICULT TO CONTAIN? (And why it is VERY unlikely to spread into the US) Bodies of Ebola victims are highly contagious, due to external bleed- ing. Community leaders must wash, touch and kiss them to prepare Cultural traditions and religions in West Africa include close contact with the sick and dying them for burial. Those in the "hot zone of disease Bodily fluids of transmission" - where the borders survivors continue of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia converge - exist on a diet that includes to be contagious for up to 7 WEEKS after recovery - meaning the saliva and semen of patients not kept in isolation can still infect others for RAW BUSHMEAT from potentially infected animals almost 2 months The 2014 Ebola Outbreak is the Largest Ever Major Outbreaks in sub-Saharan Africa: 3,069 cases 602 315 cases cases 1,552 425 264 431 cases 250 cases 224 DEATHS 187 DEATHS DEATHS DEATHS DEATHS 1976 1995 2001 2007 2014 AUGUST 2014 OUTBREAK NUMBERS BY COUNTRY: Sierra Leone Liberia Guinea Nigeria • 322 confirmed cases • 647 confirmed cases • 13 confirmed •935 confirmed cases cases •674 probable 382 suspected •37 probable • 54 suspected • 139 probable • 25 suspected •1 probable • 3 suspected 694 422 406 6. deaths deaths deaths deaths Democratic Republic Congo has recently reported its 1st cases of Ebola and 13 people have died. Africa's Increasing Use of Social Media AFRICA 2013: 3.5% 83 MILLION 70% of GDP is access the INTERNET on mobile devices MOBILE broadband MOBILE subscriptions AFRICAN SOCIAL MEDIA SITES 2013: TWITTER and ESKIMI, a social MIXIT is FACEBOOK are entertainment and the biggest the largest networking networking platform, chat and social sites in Africa has 7 MILLION MEMBERS media platform IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: (including Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia & Nigeria) By 2016, there will be 700 MILLION Mobile connections grew more than in any other part of Africa, by 44% between mobile connections, 75% of the POPULATION 2000-2012 will be connected Snapshot: Nigeria 2013 2nd largest African country using Facebook Population >177 milion |65% 90% access Facebook on mobile have mobile devices 6% are active social media users Download 32% of all BlackBerry apps in Africa 67million f of web surfing done on 90% mobile app Opera Mini Almost 67 million users Africa, Social Media & Ebola: The Pros The Cons We are seeing increasing use of social media in Africa. They might not be all the people who are directly affected by Ebola, but they can spread our public health messages to their friends and family. "The age of social media, phones and BlackBerry/Whatsapp broadcasting has now meant that word of mouth, which used to be the most effective marketing tool in Nigeria has now gained technological power and has become even more powerful. Sadly though, these broadcasts are often not true." - JJ Omojuwa, #FactsOnEbola, AfricanLiberty.org Sari Setiogi, WHO spokesperson Peddling products that claim to cure Ebola #KickEbolaOut: Popular hashtag used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to post information about Ebola prevention Anti-Ebola Salt: Rumor has spread in Nigeria that bathing or drinking Anti-Ebola salt can cure or protect you from the disease. Two Nigerians have died from drinking the salt water so far. @EbolaFacts: Retweets of CDC and WHO information Bitter Kola Nut: Touted on Twitter to have stopped the Ebola virus in experiments @EbolaAlert: Hosted a Twitter chat combating Ingesting the Ebola virus: Blogger Ken Oftedal suggested a homemade remedy for the virus by ingesting the saliva of an Ebola patient the rumors about Ebola YouTube: Conspiracy theories Liberians have posted videos on hygiene as way to combat the spread of Ebola FOREIGN DOCTORS -brought the Ebola virus to Africa -are murdering Ebola patients The best way to contain an outbreak of contagious disease is to arm the people with information on how to protect themselves. Social media is a vital tool in the fight against the spread of Ebola, especially in dispelling rumors and debunking fake cures. MMRING CANADIAN ¡PHARMACY n eidy een Your trusted Canadian dispensing pharmacy delivers the high quality pharmaceutical care www.CanadianPharmacyKing.com y @CanPharmacyKing O www.pinterest.com/kingsblog/ Toll-free: 1.877.745.9217 add .aylap v Mem ersy ehalentin migriefinejmn