Despite Media, Rightwing Ebola Hype, U.S. Public Resists Total Panic

Credit: Twitter/@AntDeRosaBy Jim LobeWASHINGTON, Oct 22 2014 (IPS)Despite media hype, missteps by federal health agencies, and apparent efforts by right-wing and some neo-conservatives to foment fear about the possible spread of the Ebola virus in the U.S., most of the public remain at least “fairly” confident in the authorities’ ability to deal with the virus.Concern about the potential threat posed by the virus has clearly grown over the past two weeks, especially after two nurses at a Dallas hospital who helped treat a fatally infected Liberian man contracted the virus. But a major poll released Tuesday found that a clear majority of respondents expressed little or no concern that they or someone in their family will be exposed.“On the one hand, it is a genuine crisis in the countries where’s it’s happening, and therefore it deserves all the attention it can get. On the other hand, the nature of that attention is inappropriate, misleading, and scare-mongering." -- Andrew TyndallThe survey, which was conducted Oct. 15-20 by the Pew Research Center, found that about six in 10 respondents (61 percent) said they have “a great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence in U.S. hospitals “to diagnose and isolate possible cases of Ebola,” compared to 38 percent who said they have little or no confidence.And 54 percent – only three percent lower than in another Pew poll taken in the days that followed Thomas Eric Duncan’s much-publicised hospitalisation ...

Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - October 22, 2014 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Jim Lobe Tags: Africa Featured Headlines Health Humanitarian Emergencies North America American Enterprise Institute Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ebola Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) neoconservatives Public Health Source Type: news