Professional Pre-Cleaning & Disinfecting in Struthers, OH

3/3/2020 (Permalink)

The stigma around certain viruses can greatly hinder the prevention and treatment of the virus itself

Common virus symptoms can be a fever, cough, and shortness of breath. In severe cases it can cause pneumonia, acute respiratory syndrome, and even kidney failure. Viruses are believed to be transmitted by person-to-person interaction. More specifically, respiratory droplets leaving an infected person’s body when they sneeze or cough. Often-times between people within 6 feet of each other. 

Viruses often-times cause anxiety, fear, and a lot of confusion. These things can often lead to stereotypes and stigmas. Stigmas can have a ‘snowball effect’ and be very difficult to reverse. The harmful stigma around this disease is causing:

• People to hide the illness to avoid discrimination
• Prevent people from receiving healthcare as soon as possible
• Discouraging them from practicing the healthy behaviors health experts call for

Everyone from governments, media, key influencers, to companies play an integral role in the prevention and abolishment of this stigma. Everyone is encouraged to be thoughtful and objective when communicating on social, digital, and print media.

Below are some ways/actions we all can take in stigmas caused by viruses:

• Spread only the facts – stigmas are only increased when information on how the virus is transmitted and prevented is false
• Share stories – stories and images of local people that have had viruses and recovered from it will go a long way in limiting the fear around this disease.
• Objective reporting – the reporting done by national and local media should be completely objective, only reiterating information based upon evidence. This will reduce the stigmatization greatly.

For more about what you can do to prevent the transmission of any virus stay in touch with our Facebook page.