Ebola is making headlines at the moment – in this task we’ll learn more about how it works and what is being done to stop it. Refer to this excellent resource from the Center for Disease Control (CDC). These short videos also give some background.

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Goal: Produce a poster, blog post or short presentation to communicate accurate information regarding Ebola.

Role: You are science communicators.

Audience: Your peers – high school students and teachers.

Scenario: Ebola is making the news in a big way – and so is misinformation about it. You need to find and present accurate information about Ebola, including potential risks and what is being done to combat it.

Product: Large visual poster, blog (500 words with media) or short presentation (4-5 mins).

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Required information

1. Describe the pathogen of Ebola, including type of pathogen, characteristics and ‘behaviour’.
2. Outline the effects of Ebola on the patient: symptoms, damage, cause of death.
3. Outline how Ebola is transmitted, including risk factors for transmission.
4. Explain why patients who survive Ebola infection become immune to future infections.
5. Describe current treatments for Ebola, including their effectiveness.
6. Describe how an outbreak of Ebola might be controlled.
7. Outline how a vaccine for Ebola might be created.
8. Evaluate the current level of ‘panic’ about Ebola. To what extent is it justified in our context?
9. Define any new or technical terms used (or discovered in your research) for the audience.

Going Further

• Compare Ebola and other viral infections.
• Discuss the origins of Ebola, including how it is thought to have become able to infect humans.

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Teacher Notes

• This could be used to reinforce the diseases unit.
• Students should be vigilant on student use of resources: there are many conspiracy theories out there clouding the issue.

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