Fear factor: The unseen perils of the Ebola outbreak
By James M. Shultz, Benjamin M. Althouse, Florence Baingana, Janice L. Cooper, Maria Espinola, Michael Greene, Zelde Espinel, Clyde B. McCoy, Laurie Mazurik, Andreas Rechkemmer | September 2, 2016
As illustrated powerfully by the 2013–2016 Ebola outbreak in western Africa, infectious diseases create fear and psychological reactions. Frequently, fear transforms into action – or inaction – and manifests as “fear-related behaviors” capable of amplifying the spread of disease, impeding life-saving medical care for Ebola-infected persons and patients with other serious medical conditions, increasing psychological distress and disorder, and exacerbating social problems. And as the case of the US micro-outbreak shows, fear of an infectious-disease threat can spread explosively even when an epidemic has little chance of materializing. Authorities must take these realities into account if they hope to reduce the deadly effects of fear during future outbreaks.
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Issue: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Volume 72 Issue 5
Keywords: Ebola, fear-related behaviors, pandemic
Topics: Uncategorized
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James M. Shultz
James M. Shultz is the director of the Center for Disaster and Extreme Event Preparedness at the University of Miami’s Miller School... Read More
Benjamin M. Althouse
Benjamin M. Althouse is a research scientist at the Institute for Disease Modeling, in Bellevue, Washington, and an affiliate assistant... Read More
Florence Baingana
Florence Baingana is a research fellow at Makerere University’s School of Public Health, in Kampala, Uganda.... Read More
Janice L. Cooper
Janice L. Cooper heads the Carter Center’s Liberia Mental Health Program, in Monrovia, Liberia.... Read More
Maria Espinola
Maria Espinola is an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the... Read More
Michael Greene
Michael Greene is a scholar at the Policy and Global Affairs Division of the National Academies.... Read More
Zelde Espinel
Zelde Espinel is a chief psychiatry resident in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at the University of Miami’s... Read More
Clyde B. McCoy
Clyde B. McCoy is the director of the Comprehensive Drug Research Center at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. ... Read More
Laurie Mazurik
Laurie Mazurik is an emergency physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, in Toronto, and the project leader for the Ebola Web... Read More
Andreas Rechkemmer
Andreas Rechkemmer is a professor and the American Humane Endowed Chair at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of... Read More
