Ebola conspiracies
6/1/202626 min
As Ebola continues to spread in Central and East Africa, conspiracies and myths about the disease are making it harder to control. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy and Dustin DeSoto, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. A health worker crouching beside the coffin of a suspected Ebola victim during safe burial procedures in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo by Michel Lunanga/Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsNoel King· Host0:02
[shouting] It's hundreds of Kenyans in the town of Nanyuki today, protesting a plan by the Trump administration to send American citizens who've been exposed to Ebola in Central Africa to Kenya instead of bringing them home. [pensive music] This Ebola outbreak started in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It's since spread to Uganda. But there are currently no confirmed cases in Kenya, and so Kenyans are asking, why send the Americans here?
Rael Ambore· Guest0:28
I spoke to the head of the Kenyan Doctors Union lobby group, and he was like, "Why would we import something that is not here? Why should we make Kenya an epicenter and then add cases, and have us deal with this?"
Noel King· Host0:43
Today Explained from Vox does not appreciate cliches, but between cuts to American aid in the region, the sheer aggressiveness of this virus, and conspiracy theories that threaten public health workers, this Ebola outbreak has become a perfect storm. That is coming up next.
Speaker 30:57
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