Lee Sang 1

Tabitha Lee Sang

Mr. Munoz
English DC, Period 5
5 November 2015
News Outbreak
In September of 2005, a global epidemic infected all corners of the world within a week
(Modeling Infectious Diseases Dissemination Through Online Ro... : Epidemiology). This
epidemic infected villages, towns, and cities and, in the process, killed hundreds of thousands.
No one, not even the livestock, was immune to the disease called corrupted blood (Modeling
Infectious Diseases Dissemination Through Online Ro... : Epidemiology). Many people tried to
help heal the sick, while others attempted to increase the infection. The plague was finally
eradicated when programmers of the virtual role-playing game World of Warcraft casted a
spell on the whole population (Modeling Infectious Diseases Dissemination Through Online
Ro... : Epidemiology).
Ran D. Balicer, in his Modeling Infectious Disease Dissemination Through Online
Role-Playing Games, commented that this virtual plague holds surprising similarities to realworld epidemics (Modeling Infectious Diseases Dissemination Through Online Ro... :
Epidemiology). Epidemiologists Nina Fefferman and Eric Longren realized that the data from
this virtual plague could have real world applications (Clark). One of the observations they took
into account was the effect of developers alerts concerning infected areas (Clark). They found
that some people listened to these alerts and stayed away from infected areas, but, surprisingly,
they also discovered a number of people who deliberately put characters in danger to travel to
these areas for curiosities sake (Clark). Some people also purposely traveled to these areas to

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help cure people infected with this disease, but other players were intent on increasing the spread
of infection, which could be the first virtual act of bio-warfare (Clark). Fefferman and Longren
took into account the inaccuracy of medias role in increasing the spread of this virtual plague
because the characters of World of Warcraft can regenerate (Clark). This virtual plague shows
that media coverage has the capacity to be helpful or harmful to society in the event of a
pandemic outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a website that contains news articles
about pandemics, lists of current disease outbreaks, and information on projects aiming to
protect America from health and safety threats, both foreign and domestic (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention). The CDCs website also contains training models called CERC, which
stand for Crisis, Emergency, Risk, and Communication, that assist in advising the recommended
responses to pandemic outbreaks (CERC Pandemic Influenza Training). The mission of the
CERC Pandemic Influenza Training model is to teach people how to overcome the range of
challenges present by severe influenza pandemic (CERC Pandemic Influenza Training). The
CDC recognizes that the sooner an outbreak is discovered, the fewer deaths that will result
during that outbreak (CERC Pandemic Influenza Training). Websites like WebMD and Mayo
Clinic also recognize that the quicker an individual identifies a contagious disease, the decreased
chances of an individual unintentionally spreading the disease and the increased chances of the
individual being treated (WebMD - Better Information. Better Health), (Mayo Clinic). These
websites list causes, symptoms, and treatments of pandemic diseases such as Ebola, swine flu,
and avian flu.
According to their website, the mission of the World Health Organization is as a global
alert and response system for epidemics and other public health emergenciesand an effective

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international system for coordinated response (Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases). WHOs
Twelfth General Programme of Work aims to strengthen biosafety, biosecurity and readiness
for outbreaks of dangerous and emerging pathogens outbreaks by the reduction of mortality,
morbidity and societal disruption resulting from epidemicsthrough prevention, preparedness,
response and recovery activities (Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases). The PED, or the
Department of Pandemic and Epidemic Disease, includes actions and networks, such
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Global Infection Prevention and Control Network (GIPCN)
and Meningitis Environmental Risk Information Technologies (MERIT), that battle epidemic
diseases like cholera, hendra virus, meningitis and plague (Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases).
These programs reach out for help from the public by informing them about these programs
through videos, websites, and radio stations (Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases).
According to Anna Mummert at Marshall University and Howard Weiss at Georgia Tech, the
new models that predict the spread of diseases in society showed that the media has a powerful
influence on the behavior of the public (How Media Reports Influence Pandemics | MIT
Technology Review). They observed that there was a decrease in the number of travelers going
to reported infected areas during the 2003 SARS outbreak (How Media Reports Influence
Pandemics | MIT Technology Review). They theorized that media reports cause people to
self-isolate: to not travel, to wear face masks and [to] reduce their exposure to crowds and,
thereby, decrease the spread of infection (How Media Reports Influence Pandemics | MIT
Technology Review). They also assumed that an increase in media reports will increase the
number of people who self-isolate (How Media Reports Influence Pandemics | MIT
Technology Review).

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Mummert and Weiss also gave an account of a false rumor of a case of SARS in New
York Citys Chinatown to support their argument. This false rumor supported the theory that the
media could affect individual behavior (How Media Reports Influence Pandemics | MIT
Technology Review). The rumor began in New York City and claimed that a restaurant worker
in Chinatown had died from SARS (How Media Reports Influence Pandemics | MIT
Technology Review). This false rumor repeated the results of the 2003 SARS outbreak, a
decrease in the number of people who visited Chinatown (How Media Reports Influence
Pandemics | MIT Technology Review).
The panic that influenced the public to self-isolate also influenced the research report
Academics and competing interest in H1N1 influenza media reporting (Mandeville et al.,
Academics And Competing Interests In H1N1 Influenza Media Reporting). This report studied
how academics use the panic of infection to increase demand for pharmaceutical products
(Mandeville et al., Academics And Competing Interests In H1N1 Influenza Media Reporting).
This report studied UK newspaper articles to assess competing interest, or CoI, among
academics during the H1N1 pandemic (Mandeville et al., Academics And Competing Interests
In H1N1 Influenza Media Reporting). The results of this article found that academics aired on
media gave a higher risk of infection than the official report (Mandeville et al., Academics And
Competing Interests In H1N1 Influenza Media Reporting). This article also found one in two
academics aired on media that commented on vaccines had CoI, and CoI was 8.4 times
greater for academics promoting vaccines (Mandeville et al., Academics And Competing
Interests In H1N1 Influenza Media Reporting). The article concluded that the heightened risk
assessment, combined with advocacy for pharmaceutical products to count this risk, created

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increased panic within the public (Mandeville et al., Academics And Competing Interests In
H1N1 Influenza Media Reporting).
The article The H1N1 pandemic: media frames, stigmatization and coping analyzed the
causes of the public blaming the H1N1 virus on Mexicans and other Latinos living in the US
(McCauley et al., The H1N1 Pandemic: Media Frames, Stigmatization and Coping). News
reports on the outbreaks alleged origin in Mexican pig farms attributed to these accusations
along with the anxiety caused by massive H1N1 media coverage (McCauley et al., The H1N1
Pandemic: Media Frames, Stigmatization and Coping). Another racial situation developed
during the recent Ebola outbreak. Mike Adams, a NaturalNews reporter, wrote his article, Ebola
pandemic brings out mental illness of establishment media, about the media (Ebola Pandemic
Brings out Mental Illness of Establishment Media). He reported that the media in this case
advocated that people with dark skin like Thomas Duncan should never be kept in medical
isolation because that would be racist (Ebola Pandemic Brings out Mental Illness of
Establishment Media). He considered the arguments of the media as rantings of insane people
who happen to occupy influential positions in the media and accredited this view by explaining
that the media has no scientific background to justify their arguments (Ebola Pandemic Brings
out Mental Illness of Establishment Media).
Media networks recognize that anxiety from pandemic coverage and competing interests
in society and politics create doubt within the public about the accuracy of media coverage
(Blaming Media Hype for Swine Flu Fears). The New York Times article Blaming Media
Hype for Swine Flu Fears discussed the publics lack of trust in media coverage (Blaming
Media Hype for Swine Flu Fears). This article quoted Dr. Goldacre, who defended the
accuracy of media coverage, stating that predicting disease outbreaks is a tricky business

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(Blaming Media Hype for Swine Flu Fears). The article concludes with a discussion of the
publics growing mistrust of the media (Blaming Media Hype for Swine Flu Fears).
Media coverage of health issues and how to work more effectively with journalists: a
qualitative study researched the medias influence on health-related behaviors with a focus on
Australia journalists and avian influenza (Media Coverage of Health Issues and How to Work
More Effectively with Journalists: A Qualitative Study). This study involved interviews with
sixteen journalists, editors, reporters, and producers between October 2006 and August 2007
(Media Coverage of Health Issues and How to Work More Effectively with Journalists: A
Qualitative Study). These interviews showed that journalists carefully offset different,
sometimes competing, aims amidst significant operational constraints and sourced respected
and independent doctors as trustworthy on particular health issues (Media Coverage of Health
Issues and How to Work More Effectively with Journalists: A Qualitative Study). The results of
this study found that specialist health and medical reporters are better suited for reporting on
health issues because of more sound technical knowledge, channels to appropriate sources,
power within their organizations, and ability to advocate for better quality coverage (Media
Coverage of Health Issues and How to Work More Effectively with Journalists: A Qualitative
Study). The article concluded that media and health officials should build a better relationship
(Media Coverage of Health Issues and How to Work More Effectively with Journalists: A
Qualitative Study).
Increasing media coverage on contagious diseases has a variety of effects. Some media,
like the WHO website and WebMD, inform and educate the public about pandemic diseases
(Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases), (WebMD - Better Information. Better Health). Other
media studies, such as Blaming Media Hype for Swine Flu Fears and The H1N1 pandemic:

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media frames, stigmatization and coping, recognize the stress that media puts on the public
(Blaming Media Hype for Swine Flu Fears), (McCauley et al., The H1N1 Pandemic: Media
Frames, Stigmatization and Coping). All studies agree that the public uses media to gain
information about pandemic diseases.

Works Cited
Blaming 'Media Hype' for Swine Flu Fears. The Lede Blaming Media Hype for Swine Flu
Fears Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 30
Oct. 2014. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

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CERC Pandemic Influenza Training. Pandemic Influenza Training|Crisis & Emergency Risk
Communication (CERC). N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.
Clark, Josh. HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com. n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
Ebola Pandemic Brings out Mental Illness of Establishment Media. NaturalNews. N.p., n.d.
Web. 09 Nov. 2014.
How Media Reports Influence Pandemics | MIT Technology Review. MIT Technology Review.
N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
Mandeville, Kate L., et al. Academics And Competing Interests In H1N1 Influenza Media
Reporting. Journal Of Epidemiology & Community Health 68.3 (2014): 197. Publisher
Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.
Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
McCauley, Michael, Sara Minsky, and Kasisomayajula Viswanath. The H1N1 Pandemic:
Media Frames, Stigmatization and Coping. BMC Public Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov.
2014.
Media Coverage of Health Issues and How to Work More Effectively with Journalists: A
Qualitative Study. BMC Public Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.
Modeling Infectious Diseases Dissemination Through Online Ro... : Epidemiology. Modeling
Infectious Diseases Dissemination Through Online Ro... : Epidemiology. N.p., n.d. Web.
13 Nov. 2014.
Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases. WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.
WebMD - Better Information. Better Health. WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.