Ebola in the Media

Sierra Leone and Ebola are in the news a lot at the moment, with reports that 5 people are being infected with Ebola every hour there........I just don't see how that can be true, five an hour? The reported figures certainly don't reflect that. I know that it's bad out there at the moment,  but I don't believe that it's that bad.

It seems Ebola is on every newscast at the moment, just a few news items that spring to mind are:

• The hoax on the flight from Dominican Republic to the US
• The suspected case in Australia of a nurse recently returned from Sierra Leone - she has since tested negative for Ebola, but they don't seem quite so quick to report that
• The dog of the Spanish nurse that was exterminated (does anyone know if you can get Ebola from a dog??)
• The suspected case in Macedonia - surely this can't be an Ebola case, he had travelled from the UK and hasn't been to Africa for years

On top of what's being reported in the news is social media. On twitter there are a lot of people calling for borders to be closed for the affected countries. There are a LOT of jokes about Ebola too - I must've had a sense of humour bypass where this is concerned because I can't see a funny side to it. Then there are the rumours of the virus becoming airborne, which is causing even more panic.

I'm finding the coverage of Ebola exhausting, it's relentless and it makes people think that that is all there is to Sierra Leone - when it's so much more.

It's been hard enough for people living with the stigma of the war, and now this.......
Sierra Leone is more than Ebola.......
...it's wonderfully warm, friendly, loving, funny, beautiful people
...it's the most religiously tolerant place I've ever known
...it's traffic, okadas and noise
...it's unspoilt beaches and the most perfect sunsets you could ever wish to see

...it's so much more than Ebola


There is some good news.......I was very glad to hear that Gambia Bird are resuming flights to Sierra Leone later this month, they will be flying direct from Gatwick which is much better for me than the only other current alternatives of going via Brussels or Morocco.