Misinformation spreads fast when people are afraid and a contagious and potentially fatal disease is frightening. This provides the ideal emotionally charged context for rumours to thrive.
The coronavirus is still spreading in China, and the doctor who warned Chinese officials early on about a possible outbreak is now dead. But in the US, some think the outbreak is exaggerated. Is it?
Immigrants experienced stigma and blame during the Ebola crisis when in fact many were instrumental in stopping the spread of the disease. A scholar who studied that response offers insights.
In the real world, new diseases emerge from complex environments. To learn more about how, scientists set up whole artificial ecosystems in the lab, instead of focusing on just one factor at a time.
Epidemiologists want to quickly identify any emerging disease’s potential to spread far and wide. Dependent on a number of factors, this R0 number helps them figure that out and plan accordingly.
The economic impacts of the new coronavirus on the travel and tourism industry will be felt in every corner of the world and almost every sector of the economy.
Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the 2019-nCoV outbreak, is now under lockdown. What does that mean for its 11 million citizens, and for the rest of the world?
The declaration does not mean the risk to Canadians has changed, but it does mean Canada must step up to help those countries with weaker heath-care systems.
Arne Ruckert, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa; Hélène Carabin, Université de Montréal, and Ronald Labonte, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
China’s coronavirus outbreak is stoking fears that it could become the next great global pandemic. As the World Health Organization declares a global emergency, it’s also fanning a pandemic of fear.
During a crisis, communities seek to come together. But quarantined residents of Wuhan at the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic have had to show their encouragement in a different way.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand