Sending the Right Message: Wild Game and the West Africa Ebola Outbreak

Abstract

The unprecedented scale of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa in 2014-15 caught the world by surprise. Zaire Ebolavirus had not previously been documented in Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia. However, since this strain of filovirus was first identified in 1976, scientists have been studying the disease and its origins. They have identified forest-dwelling animals that carry the virus, and some that die from it, but have yet to isolate how it is transmitted from animals to humans. During the height of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, some public health messages addressed the link among Ebola, wild animals, and humans. This article analyzes 3 of those health messages and identifies information that is inconsistent with scientific research. Two additional examples illustrate more accurate public health messages. Until there is greater certainty about the nature of the transmission chain, future public health campaigns may be improved by timing, placement, images, and wording that provide the most accurate information to the most appropriate audience.

Keywords: Economic issues; Epidemic management/response; Food safety; Public health communication; Public health preparedness/response; Viral hemorrhagic fevers.