by Duane Dailey,
Professor Emeritus
University of Missouri
Avoid contact with body fluids. Easy said. That protects us from Ebola, a virus killing thousands in Africa. Easy done?
We must get the word to everyone. From years of writing about breeding cattle and growing grass, I know telling a story is slow.
How do we speed up if Ebola arrives near us? With easy global travel that could happen. We travel faster than we educate.
If you read this column, we have a common bond. We hold newsprint in our hands, get fingers smudged and smell the ink.
That has connected literate people back to when Gutenberg printed the Bible for wide distribution.
Ink on paper is the way we read text books, study Sunday school lessons and do business. But, I fear that is gone for too many.
I’m a holdout. I subscribe to too many newspapers. But, I read this paper every week. Plus, six others delivered every day. I can’t count all the magazines.
Increasingly news comes digitally. To me, it’s too slow to read long news stories that way. But, I’m getting used to brief digital updates.
I had a wake-up moment reading Twitter during the violence in Ferguson, Mo. I learned the news first from Tweets with photos. They arrived before mainstream media were on the scene.
During a week at the photo workshop in Platte City, I had newsprint withdrawal. USA Today, a regular read, was in the breakfast room at the motel. I found a place to pick up the KC Star. I wasn’t so lucky for New York Times and Wall Street Journal. I had no hope for a printed Post-Dispatch or for Columbia papers. (Those stacked up at home.)
I wasn’t alone. Volunteer faculty members were all news and magazine staff. They continued reading their own papers on their laptops. But, they missed the real thing. You get more from the print edition. E-news is for scanning.
In down times, between teaching, discussion filled in and breaking news was shared.
At that time the two breaking-news items were ISIS, the terrorists, and Ebola, the virus. A quick consensus among journalists was that the virus was probably the more immediate threat for loss of life in the U.S. than terrorists.
The challenge will be in educating by the media all people on care needed in extreme hygiene.
We’ve already seen what happens without awareness. A health-care worker in Dallas was not updated on the massive risk presented by a patient arriving from Africa. That patient had fever and possible Ebola symptoms.
He was sent away with antibiotics which don’t kill virus. That person contacted 100 people.
Not knowing the news can be disastrous.
Here’s where e-news helps. First e-story to pop up calmed me.
“You don’t have Ebola if you haven’t touched an Ebola patient. E-news listed our body fluids with virus: Vomit, blood, sweat, tears, saliva, urine and feces.
Any one of us is not likely to encounter those infectious fluids.
And, there’s vast difference between health care in Liberia and United States. There, they spend $65 annually per person on health care. Here, it’s $8,895. We have lots of professional care givers.
News photos show African victims lying on hospital floors soaked in fluids. We have gear to contain fluids and protect health care givers.
And, we have a population that can read, learn, and heed health advice. We just need to read.
Other viruses and bacteria will be deadlier for us. Ebola transmissions are low, average of 1.5 per case. Measles transmit at one to 18.
The media must teach awareness, not scariness.
One more threat: Beware of Amendment No. 3 on the ballot. It aims to remove local control of schools. That needs a “No” vote. A billionaire in St. Louis wants you to vote “Yes.” Missourians are wise to wise him.
Send scary news to [email protected] or 511 W. Worley, Columbia, MO 65203.
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