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EBOLA
Right Back Atcha
Wouldn’t it be great if there were a cadre of people who could take on the Ebola virus, helping treat the highly infectious sick without fear? There obviously is: Survivors.
In an International Journal of Epidemiology editorial, Zena A Stein, of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, construct a persuasive argument for deploying this overlooked resource—“ the only people in the world who are ‘vaccinated’ against further Ebola infection with the strain in circulation.”
In addition to caring for the sick, survivors can also donate blood and their likely protective antibodies that might provide passive immunotherapy (still not proven to work). Survivors can also play key roles in community-based responses.
** International Journal of Epidemiology (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.
Related: Ebola survivors crucial to containing the epidemic: experts – ** Reuters (http://jhsph.us3.list-manage.
White Saviors and Voluntourists
In the fight against Ebola, foreign intervention comes with cultural baggage. For example, Liberian researcher Robtel Neajai Pailey sees “international efforts against Ebola as a ‘white savior complex,’ ‘a pathology of white privilege’ based on the ill-conceived concept that Africans can’t survive without Western interventions,” writes journalist M. Sophia Newman.
Change may be slow in coming, according to Newman's excellent essay that weaves in her personal experience in Ghana, where she was viewed not as a genuine collaborator, but rather as a pampered money tree from America.
“My time there showed me that meaningful collaborations are often constrained due to long-standing inequality—but they are possible,” writes Newman.
** Pacific Standard (http://jhsph.us3.list-
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