- We cannot allow our society to become sitting ducks in an epidemic; the nature of which the world is still trying to elucidate and understand.
“Conspiracy theories are really attractive. Figuring out patterns is one of the things that get your brain to give you a nice dose of chemical reward, the little ping of dopamine and whatever else that keeps you smiling. As a result, your brain is pretty good at finding patterns and at disregarding information that doesn’t fit. Which means it’s also pretty good at finding false patterns, and at confirmation bias, and a bunch of other things that can be fatal. Our brains are also really good at making us the centre of a narrative because it’s what we evolved for.”
Conspiracy theories have been a mainstay of humankind for centuries. A conspiracy theory can be defined as the belief that there are secret groups that plan and carry out malevolent goals. In sphere of health, these conspiracies abound. Some include claims in the 1980s that the HIV was a biological agent created with the sinister aim of controlling the human population, the link between the MMR vaccine and autism, the Zika virus conspiracy theories, the belief that the pharmaceutical industry intentionally spreads diseases to expand the health economy or that vaccines cause illness rather than prevent them.
The origins of these theories may vary but are all a result of a sense of mistrust between the general public and governments. It is also known that the higher the educational attainment of any given society, the less likely it is for conspiracy theories to thrive. Currently, there is a swell of conspiracy and innuendo around the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus). This ranges from it being an official Chinese government-sponsored biological weapons experiment gone rouge, through the fact that the virus is incapable of surviving in blacks, to the ability of heat and humidity to prevent person to person transmission in Africa.
According to Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) Norwich Medical School, nearly 40% of the British public believe at least one conspiracy theory relating to the coronavirus outbreak with the percentages even higher in the United States. I shudder to think what the percentage will be in Ghana. We ordinarily will ignore such pedestrian talk, especially in a situation as fluid as the current coronavirus epidemic. However, on this occasion, we have spent significant time trying to debunk some of these misconceptions. We have because currently, the rate of spread of this disease is becoming a concern for all. As I type, 58 out of the 194 member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) have confirmed cases of COVID-19; meaning the epidemic has spread to 29.8% of the countries in the world. Fortunately, only 3 out of the 54 countries in Africa have confirmed cases, i.e only 5.5% of African countries are affected.
This low number, in our view, is allowing many to erroneously believe the claim that Africans have several factors, genetics included, playing in our favour. That is where our gravest concerns are. This is because the WHO has painfully emphasised that the biggest test for the world in this coronavirus crisis will be reached when less well-resourced health systems have to deal with patients with respiratory complications; should this epidemic not be stopped in its tracks.
This deceleration will not happen unless misinformation around this epidemic is confronted head-on. Truth is, a lack of knowledge is likely to breed a naïve sense of security and could work against the need for us to alter certain inherent behaviour. It could also delay the timely reporting of flu-like symptoms for supportive care to help save lives. Also, these delays could mar the ability of public health workers to conduct effective contact-tracing, and the provision of advice for self-quarantine of these contacts.
The virulence of this microorganism must not be underestimated. The speed with which it has swept through South Korea and in recent days Italy and Iran bears testimony to this. At my last check, 85,851 infections had been confirmed with 2,928 deaths. Also, within the past twenty-four hours, five additional countries confirmed new cases. I am under no illusion that by the time this piece is published these numbers would have appreciated significantly.
It is therefore important that a relentless educational campaign is engaged such that citizens across the length of the country are made to understand the potential risks we may all be facing. This campaign must be far-reaching, should include the use of print, electronic and social media, and must be multidialectal. It must explain in plain language what the disease is, how it is spread, what citizens should do when they suspect they may be infected and address the issues around the various conspiracy theory.
It should also emphasise that our default lifestyle predisposes us to increased risk of person to person transmission. There must be clarity in explaining some specific behaviours inherent in us that need immediate alteration. It should indicate that it may be a good idea to desist from these behaviours immediately so that, should this epidemic reach our land these attitudes will be the norm rather than the exception. We must all be clear in our minds that if these theories are not debunked and cases are confirmed in Ghana, our health system will be overwhelmed. If we had any doubts about this, perhaps the recent evaluation of the preparedness of our health system undertaken by the WHO must put paid to this.
We cannot allow our society to become sitting ducks in an epidemic; the nature of which the world is still trying to elucidate and understand.
In these times, a lot of the information we receive may not sit well with us partly because overall our country has been spared in most global epidemics. However, this should call for vigilance rather than breed complacency. I have a word of caution for those who enjoy the chemical stimulation associated with conspiracy theories. Currently, this disease has caused significant illness and death, and it has also demonstrated that it can spread quickly from person to person. The only missing link in it moving from an epidemic to pandemic status is that until date it has failed to spread worldwide, with Africa and South America holding it at bay. How long these two continents will prevail with some of the least robust health systems remains unknown.
The predictions of the likes of Jeffrey Shaman Professor of Environmental Health Science at Columbia University, however, is that COVID-19 will not be contained and will become a pandemic. The public health defence of these two continents will soon be breached, and when that happens the spread will be exponential. Should this be the case, we hope your quest for and attraction towards conspiracy theory does not make you the centre of the narrative and result in you becoming either a mortality or morbidity statistic.
Featured Image Courtesy of Tim
Edited by Winifred Awa