Ebola: Misinformation can spread like virus

Much of the reporting around ebola is rife with rumours and misconceptions,writes Fiona McLysaght.

SENEGAL has just confirmed its first case of ebola, a Guinean national who recently arrived in the country.

This officially means the West African outbreak is spread across five countries. However, last week the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) confirmed cases of ebola within its borders, and it took almost no time at all for media sources to jump on this information and misreport it as “the fifth African nation affected by the outbreak”.