How Does the Media Influence the Response To Epidemics?

As the Ebola virus rages on in West Africa, the world is assessing the best way to address this epidemic. Discourse in the United States has revolved around many issues - including an air travel ban - which have caused an uproar in the public health sector. But what is really shaping the reponses made towards the Ebola epidemic? By looking at Ebola in comparison with previous epidemics, such as the cholera epidemic in Haiti, this panel will begin to explore how the media can influence the populations's reaction and response to epidemics around the world.Facilitating this discussion will be Jonathan Katz, a well-known journalist who has spent much time in Haiti and did specific reports on the cholera epidemic there, and Dr. Priscilla Wald, an English professor at Duke with an expertise in literature and medicine, as well as science and new media. A light lunch will be served.Co-sponsored by the Haiti Lab.