Contesting the (Super)Natural Origins of Ebola in Macenta, Guinea: Biomedical and Popular Approaches

Abstract

a declaration from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) officially announced that Ebola-Zaïre haemorrhagic fever affected four districts in south-eastern Guinea, Guéckédou, Macenta, Nzérékore and Kissidougou, and suspected cases were reported in Liberia and Sierra Leone. That day, there were already-in Guinea alone-a total of 86 suspected cases and 60 deaths. 1 Among the multiple measures and interventions that would follow, a retrospective epidemiological study of the cases and deaths that occurred during the silent phase of the epidemic-the first phase without identification of all fatal cases-was launched to document the chain of transmission. 2 The latter would postulate that the Ebola virus appeared in south-eastern Guinea

Framing Epizootic Diseases in Mass Media

“…The persistent occurrence of biological factors mentioned throughout the African swine flu media coverage disclosing the epidemic pathogens' potential indicates the relation between the "carrier" and its victim. Thus the animals are no longer just "carriers" but also victims of the virus (Thys, 2019). The mentioning of natural animal migration as the second type of factors that allowed the virus spread in Romania is directly linked to the application of the zoonosis control measures that are akin to those performed on human migration, or, for instance, the security fences raised across state borders to prevent the natural movement of wild boars (Keck, 2019).…”

How to Live Safely with Bats? Ignorance(s) in post-Ebola Risk Communication (Guinea, Sierra Leone)

“…The notion of a disease reservoir, un réservoir de maladies in French, was sometimes referred to, but more commonly conveyed by the explanation that bats have diseases, "dangers" or "evil things, " that do not harm them, but if provoked, they can "give" them to humans. The zoonotic causality of the Ebola outbreak had been and still was indeed the object of much scepticism and speculations among locals (Bonwitt et al 2018;Thys 2019). As hinted by Norbert who translated for my attention the question "where do bats take diseases?"…”

A doença comunista e a sopa de morcegos. Sobre tráfico de animais, orientalismo e pandemia

“…para os potenciais estragos de uma avaliação precipitada, equivocada e frequentemente mal-intencionada das relações entre humanos e não humanos -uma que qualifica como primitivas, atemporais, atrasadas ou impróprias relações com animais silvestres ou formas tradicionais de criação animal não pautadas pela racionalidade industrial. Um dos resultados disso tem sido, assim, a imposição das agendas globais (leia-se euro-americanas) de proteção dos animais e do meio ambiente, que devastam economias e práticas de consumo locais -em nome, neste momento, da luta contra o "tráfico de animais silvestres" e o uso da fauna silvestre como recurso alimentar -, abrindo caminho, via de regra, para os impérios do gado bovino, suíno e do frango como, parafraseando Thys (2019) carnes "epidemiologicamente lícitas", que acabam por impor dietas monoespecíficas cada vez menos diversificadas (Borges e Carneiro, 2020).…”