“It now seems a lifetime ago. The first case of Ebola had come to the Western hemisphere and taken the life of Thomas Eric Duncan at a Dallas, Texas hospital. His death, and other cases in the “developed” world, led to a predictable media deluge, a good bit of hysteria, and predictable political posturing. As the November election approached, fear and ideology took hold, with calls for quarantine and allegations of discrimination coming from predictable precincts.” Joseph J. Fins, M.D in 'Ideology and Microbiology: Ebola, Science and Deliberative Democracy'.
Ebola – from a small village in Guinea, the deadly virus took hold of West Africa in 2014, and to date has taken the lives of over 10,000 people. The virus threatens to destabilize world health efforts and has induced global fear, with citizens from far away nations concerned about the “what ifs?” of Ebola landing on their doorsteps.
Shining a light through the media stories, health claims and international panic, this edition of The American Journal of Bioethics focuses on the latest research on ebola, an epidemic which has enormous implications for health practitioners, scientists, and policy makers worldwide. With articles focused on the ethics of quarantine,on the design of clinical research trials, on non-approved therapies, and public health ethics, this issue seeks to address many of the key questions that have been raised in recent months on how we respond and adapt to such a deadly health crisis.
Essential reading for academics, policy makers, health professionals and anyone with an interest in the outbreak, the research is available on Taylor & Francis Online.
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