Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

     I never realized how much information was accessible on the internet until doing this blog entry.  I searched through at least 6 different news magazines learning about all sorts of different tid bits here and there.  I finally came across some articles that pertained to my major though.  Time Magazine was one of the magazines that instantly caught my attention.  Through Time I found my article on the Zika Virus which has intrigued me over the past couple of days (as you may have seen in my previous blog entries).  The second magazine that interested me was in Newsweek and it had an article that discusses the organ drones saving lives.  Reading these articles really solidified the passion I have for Public Health.

     Time Magazine: "Zika Virus Could Be Spread Through Sex, Cases Suggest"

• What is the conflict in the story?

         Originally, doctors were saying that Zika would be spread through sex which is why some countries in South America, such as El Salvador, requested a two-year sex ban to reduce the spread of disease.  However, there were only two cases that showed that the Zika virus was spread through sex.  So, there are medical professionals suggesting that the federal government inform everyone of the Zika disease, not just women that are pregnant or are thinking of becoming pregnant.   So the conflict is that the federal government is only informing the pregnant women but they aren't informing travelers about the risk of going to South America where Zika has been prevalent through the large population of mosquitos living there.  

     The only two cases recorded by scientists that showed evidence that Zika is sexually transmitted were found in 2008 by a Colorado woman and her husband, and then also a 44 year-old man from French Polynesia.  The Colorado couple, Mr. and Mrs. Brian D. Foy, discovered that the virus had to be sexually transmitted when none of their children carried the virus in their blood.  However since those cases were such a long time ago, it is difficult to base the present situation off of them because those could have been unusual cases.  Now the virus could be airborne since there haven't been any other recent cases that show that Zika is sexually transmitted.  

G. Clark, Gary. "Dengue06" 2006 via WikimediaCommons.
Public Domain License.  

    The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) argue that there isn't sufficient evidence to warn travelers about the virus since there are potentially two cases that suggest the virus is only sexually transmitted.  

• Who is the most sympathetic character in the story?

     The character in the article that I feel most sympathy for is Brian D. Foy.  After finding that the blood tests for Zika virus came back positive after traveling to Senegal (near Africa), he has been trying to raise money for research on the Zika virus and how it is passed on to others.  He and his wife went on a trip to a foreign country and came back with a virus that could have caused serious issues had they tried to become pregnant after the trip.  The Zika virus causes severe birth defects and paralysis.  Luckily, their children didn't get the virus, however, it shows evidence that the people out in the world who are pregnant, could have the virus and potentially be giving birth to a baby with severe brain issues once born.  

• Who is the least sympathetic character in the story?

Wolff, Phil. "cdc logo". 03/13/09 via Flicker.
Creative Commons Generic License. 

     The "character" in the story that I feel the least amount of sympathy towards would be the officials from the CDC.  Yes, it is their job to control the outbreak of diseases and help to prevent them, but I do not understand why they wouldn't warrant a warning to all travelers leaving the United States if it would help prevent the disease from spreading.  Personally, I would warn all travelers, no matter where they go, that there is a risk that there is a virus from mosquitos going around that could lead to birth defects and paralysis.  Everyone has the right to be warned, even if there isn't enough evidence, I think that it is better to be safe than sorry.  Even if the virus is only spread through sex, it is important that everyone is aware of this so that they can take precautions and know what is and is not safe.  I have no sympathy for the officials who seem to care more about science than the health and safety of other people.  

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Newsweek: "Medical Transport Drones Could Transform Health Care in Overcrowded Cities"

• What is the conflict in the story?

b k. "world class traffic jam". 03/23/08 via Flicker.
Creative Commons Generic License. 

The main issue here is that the traffic in overcrowded cities is ridiculous when the time comes for emergency vehicles to get through.  In India specifically New Delhi, an 8-mile stretch of road can take up to 2 hours.  However, with the collaboration of the police department and the hospitals, the police were able to stop traffic and allow the emergency vehicle carrying an organ soon to be donated through the traffic.  That 8-mile route took only 13 minutes.  The problem is that the police can't be stopping traffic everyday for emergencies.  Although it would be nice, and many more lives would be saved, it is just unrealistic.  In order to combat this problem, women in Spain tried to design a drone that would be able to transport the organ from one hospital to the other.  However the cost of making two drones, a base station, two piloting consoles, training, and sanitation with ultraviolet radiation is around $2.7 million.  There isn't enough money for New Delhi to pay for that so nonprofit organizations are trying to help pay for it.  David Carro Meana, the inventor of the drone Gimball is also working with the nonprofits to try to find a way to make the drones available for use in not only New Delhi, but all around the world.  

• Who is the most sympathetic character in the story?

Churchill, Sam. "dhl". 07/03/13 via Flicker.
Creative Commons Generic License. 

     I think that the character that I feel most sympathy for is Meana, the president of the IFFE, a business school in Spain that focuses socially responsible innovation.  He not only was able to invent a drone that fit all of the requirements needed to have the drone work special for transporting organs, but he is working to make the drone available to the cities that are overcrowded and really need a way to transport organs during severe traffic.  Knowing that there are people in the world that are actually putting their time and money and knowledge towards something meaningful makes me support him and his cause.  He worked hard, and it shows.  Hopefully, his work will get to be put to use and will save a lot of lives.

• Who is the least sympathetic character in the story?

The people in New Dheli during the really bad traffic are who are I have the least amount of sympathy for.  They are already waiting in traffic long enough, so why not allow the police to create the "Green corridor" (where the police make the cars go to the side of the road and keep all of the lights green so the emergency vehicles can pass by easily) and help save a life or two?  It seems to be pointless to make a big fuss about having to wait for the ambulance to pass when the time the drivers spent on the side of the road is not that much different to the time that they would have spent sitting in their cars waiting for the traffic to go.  The problem with the green corridor is that police have other things that they need to take care of like crime and punishment rather than stopping traffic everyday.