The fact alone that few people realize how deadly the disease is startles me as it is killing people in the eastern part of the world periodically and there is not sign of it stopping anytime soon.  The fact is, that if a person contracts the disease, they pretty much have a 50-50 shot of surviving.  A disease this deadly should be getting more attention than it currently is, and I think a lot of this has to do with it not affecting the population in the western world.  At least, it has not done much over here yet.

If the disease would break out in America, it would probably get nonstop media attention.  This could be a situation similar to the  West Nile Virus outbreak of a few years ago where a disease unknown to many began killing hundreds.  However the differences between the to are vast because avian influenza is so much more deadly with its high rate of fatalities.  In addition, if it mutates into a transmittable form, it would be much more contagious that West Nile ever was and in turn affect many more people.

Avian influenza is a pressing issue although it may not seem as if it really is right now.  If American people knew what was happening on the other side of the world and realized that it can happen over here, and possibly even worse, they would agree that the nation needs to get prepared for an outbreak.  Of course this is where the communicating the risk to the public is very important and is something that needs to gain more attention by the media and government.

I also think the way the graphs were presented was very effective.  A small detail was that the graphs were slowly drawn out on the screen instead of being put up all at once.  What this did was not let the audience know was what was coming next and made it shocking when the graphs sometimes shot upwards and showed how hot the earth was getting, or the level of CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. 

The cartoon he used was also used effectively.  It not only gave the audience some comic relief, but also something else to look at besides graph and Gore himself.  It is important to visually stimulate the audience in some way besides diagrams and photos, just as it is important as it is to have those photos and diagrams.  Gore demonstrated this by using the cartoons at effective intervals and at times when they were best utilized.

(Courtesy Quiplash! from Flickr)

This first image is a diagram summarizing the bird flu up very quickly. Right off the bat it tells you what the bird flu is and why it is dangerous. It also tells how humans get infected and that we have no immunity to the virus. These are important points to make so people know that the bird flu is an important topic to pay attention to. Also, the diagram is edited to show that it is indeed for avian influenza to spread between humans, and however rare this is, it is an important point to make. I especially like the part at the bottom showing that it will only take one human to contract the disease before it could quickly become an epidemic on a global scale.

(Courtesy BBC)

This next image is striking at first glance because it shows that the bird flu really has become a global problem. This map is showing all the nations that are getting prepared for a pandemic and the fact that nations all over the world are preparing is a sure sign that it needs to be prepare and the general public should be knowledgeable on the subject.

(Courtesy BBC)

The third and final image is my favorite of the three. Immediately it is obvious that the picture is of a dead bird, which grabs the attention right off the bat. Someone looking at the photograph next wonders what killed the bird, and in this case the culprit is, of course, avian influenza. This tells people that the impact is real and happening all over the world (this happens to be a photograph from Africa). But what makes this image my favorite is how the bird is in the immediate foreground and the people are noticeable, yet in the background of the image. To me this is telling the story of avian influenza; that right now birds take up the big part of its picture, but it may be time until people come into the foreground.

http://www.blog.thesietch.org/2007/04/22/happy-earth-day/

As a piece of risk communication, An Inconvenient Truth works well in how it is constructed sequentially and from an audio/visual standpoint.  By presenting information and straight scientific facts throughout the movie, without overwhelming the audience with a bunch of numbers and graphs at once makes the data much easier to digest.  While the audience should have some knowledge on the subject before watching the film, it is not necessary and accessible by really any audience.  The way he breaks up his presentation with excerpts about his life not only helps appeal to pathos, but also breaks up the film and helps establish Gore’s credibility.  Also, the graphs that are used are very impactful and help illustrate his point effectively.  One that jumps out in the mind immediately is where Gore uses the power lift to show the audience how drastic the difference is that we are making on the earth. 

Another situation I could address in a press release would be how the disease would spread.  By addressing this issue once people realize the severity of avian influenza, it will further establish the fact that the risk of a pandemic is not to be taken seriously.  While the virus must first undergo a transformation to be transmittable between humans, if this happens it would be just as contagious as the seasonal flu, a much less sever disease that already has people’s attention which gives a point of reference. 

A third topic I could address would be that of containing the outbreak if it ever happens.  Involved in this is containment, a decrease in services, goods, and common medical services and medicine.  This will make people realize that they must know what they must do should the disease break out and that they must plan now for the worst because it is impossible to tell if and when it might occur.

The tone I will use for this piece will be of urgency.  There is no telling when an outbreak may happen so people must take all steps possible now to be sure that they are prepared.

Another interesting topic brought up in the article is the issue of contraflow. This brings up the issue of getting people where the government wants them to be, and in the case of an influenza pandemic, that would be containment. While this is a problem totally different than that of contraflow, it involves getting people in places they need to be, whether that may be out of their city, or keeping them where they already are. Either case is difficult both for the government to enforce and for people to be convinced that it is worth doing. People do not want to leave their homes because they are leaving behind all their belongings, relationships, and possibly pets. Alternatively, people do not want to be confined to their homes because they are then in effect breaking off relationships, are unable to make social contact, cannot get basic necessities, and may have a sense of helplessness. Once they are allowed to go out of their town or house, people may not know what to expect, which is a frightening thought for most people.

While Katrina was a vastly different disaster than an outbreak of avian influenza would be, much can be learned from the mistakes made. It shows the significance risk communication can have on the outcome on a situation and how careful planning must be made in advance for any disaster that has a chance of happening because it is impossible to tell if or when something may happen.

• The best way to stop the spread of Avian Influenza is by telling people that they must not travel far distances, but it is hard to convince people of this when they want to see family members and friends.

• Telling people about the dangers of an outbreak of avian influenza would make them better aware of the risks associated with it so they would get more prepared, but the hard part is getting them interested in a subject in which it is impossible to tell when a problem may arise.

There was no problem constructing authority either as the two people who the public saw speaking about the subject most were the NYC health commissioner and their mayor. However the city did fail to do everything in the best manner possible. Some of the materials they issued created too much worry in the public eye, were above the intended audience’s level of understanding, and they failed to show concern about the environment when spraying pesticides. (p.10)

Even with these downfalls, the city did an adequate job of communicating the risks to the public and the threat eventually receded. Citizens of New York City were not forced to evacuate (p.11) Other cities can now look at the unfortunate situation the City of New York was put in almost ten years ago now and can learn from their successes and also improve on their missteps to better handle future disease outbreaks should they ever occur.

The article “Blogging for Better Health” is very relevant to the topic I am studying because they both have to do with health-related matters.  It discusses how many people now use blogs to get information and also express their feelings.  This is an important new form of communication for patients as they are now able to read what other people are saying, perhaps discussing their personal experience with a certain disease or health care professionals passing along information about how to best treat a certain illness.  The blog also allows people to see what others say about their situation for support.  According to the article this support usually comes in the form of emotional support but can also come in the form of informational support; I’m sure the bloggers appreciate any kind of support they can get which they would not have had otherwise without the blog. 

• http://flickr.com/photos/lifeontheedge/112900749/sizes/m/

Without a doubt if an epidemic of Avian Influenza were to break out people would be blogging about it and hopefully a panic would not occur because of it.  There are already some people, who see Avian Influenza as a killer and seem to be trying to spread the word by fear, but this is unnecessary in my eyes and there are better ways to communicate the risk.  But health care professionals would probably be putting up blogs as well dealing with the symptoms of their patients and this may even be used as a fast way to communicate between doctors as if an outbreak does happen speed of communication will be an important part to stopping it. 

If you enjoyed these health blogs you may want to check out the filter blog Health Blogging which links to numerous health blogging sites which you may find interesting.  They also have a section dedicated to Avian Influenza Blogs.

 Ethical Issues

The article on ethics was also interesting in relation to risk communication and the subject of Avian Influenza.  Ethical issues are an important matter because what ethics really are is the distinction between right and wrong dictated by morals, which are the ideas of right and wrong.  Risk communicators must be careful as to try to be morally right, while also doing what is in their best interest.  This can come into play when trying to communicate the risk of an Avian Influenza pandemic because the risk communicators should get as much information to the public as possible, but also must take into account that a panic may ensue if that information is very unnerving.  On the other hand if the public finds out they withheld information they would be very upset and their trust of the government, or whoever the risk communicator is, would surely decline.