Disease X and Africa: How a Scientific Metaphor Entered Popular Imaginaries of the Online Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the addition of Disease X, a hypothetical infectious threat, to its blueprint list of priority diseases. In the construction of discourse that circulated following this announcement, conceptions of Disease X intersected with representations of A...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Edinburgh Library
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Medicine Anthropology Theory |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.medanthrotheory.org/article/view/5611 |
| _version_ | 1811265084721201152 |
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| author | Kelley Sams Catherine Grant Alice Desclaux Khoudia Sow |
| author_facet | Kelley Sams Catherine Grant Alice Desclaux Khoudia Sow |
| author_sort | Kelley Sams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the addition of Disease X, a hypothetical infectious threat, to its blueprint list of priority diseases. In the construction of discourse that circulated following this announcement, conceptions of Disease X intersected with representations of Africa. In our article, we share a broad strokes analysis of internet narratives about Disease X and Africa in the six months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (July–December 2019) and during its first six months (January–June 2020). Our analysis focuses on how the scientific concept of Disease X was applied by ‘non-experts’ to make meaning from risk, uncertainty, and response. These non-experts drew in parallel upon more general representations of power, fear, and danger. This research is particularly relevant at the time of writing, as online narratives about COVID-19 vaccination are shaping vaccine anxiety throughout the world by drawing upon similar conceptions of agency and inequality. Because Disease X in Africa still looms as a perceived future threat, considering the narratives presented in this paper can provide insight into how people create meaning when faced with a scientific concept, a global health crisis, and the idea that there are other crises yet to come. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T20:17:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8151b0c628504fbd8307f3da8a29b051 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-691X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T20:17:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | University of Edinburgh Library |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medicine Anthropology Theory |
| spelling | doaj.art-8151b0c628504fbd8307f3da8a29b0512022-12-22T03:18:06ZengUniversity of Edinburgh LibraryMedicine Anthropology Theory2405-691X2022-04-019212810.17157/mat.9.2.56115611Disease X and Africa: How a Scientific Metaphor Entered Popular Imaginaries of the Online Public During the COVID-19 PandemicKelley Sams0Catherine Grant1Alice Desclaux2Khoudia Sow3Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Walden UniversityInstitute of Development Studies, University of SussexInstitut de Recherche pour le DéveloppementCentre Régional de Recherche et de Formation à la prise en charge de Fann (CRCF)In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the addition of Disease X, a hypothetical infectious threat, to its blueprint list of priority diseases. In the construction of discourse that circulated following this announcement, conceptions of Disease X intersected with representations of Africa. In our article, we share a broad strokes analysis of internet narratives about Disease X and Africa in the six months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (July–December 2019) and during its first six months (January–June 2020). Our analysis focuses on how the scientific concept of Disease X was applied by ‘non-experts’ to make meaning from risk, uncertainty, and response. These non-experts drew in parallel upon more general representations of power, fear, and danger. This research is particularly relevant at the time of writing, as online narratives about COVID-19 vaccination are shaping vaccine anxiety throughout the world by drawing upon similar conceptions of agency and inequality. Because Disease X in Africa still looms as a perceived future threat, considering the narratives presented in this paper can provide insight into how people create meaning when faced with a scientific concept, a global health crisis, and the idea that there are other crises yet to come.http://www.medanthrotheory.org/article/view/5611disease xcovid-19pandemicsimaginaryhealth communication |
| spellingShingle | Kelley Sams Catherine Grant Alice Desclaux Khoudia Sow Disease X and Africa: How a Scientific Metaphor Entered Popular Imaginaries of the Online Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic Medicine Anthropology Theory disease x covid-19 pandemics imaginary health communication |
| title | Disease X and Africa: How a Scientific Metaphor Entered Popular Imaginaries of the Online Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full | Disease X and Africa: How a Scientific Metaphor Entered Popular Imaginaries of the Online Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Disease X and Africa: How a Scientific Metaphor Entered Popular Imaginaries of the Online Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disease X and Africa: How a Scientific Metaphor Entered Popular Imaginaries of the Online Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_short | Disease X and Africa: How a Scientific Metaphor Entered Popular Imaginaries of the Online Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| title_sort | disease x and africa how a scientific metaphor entered popular imaginaries of the online public during the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | disease x covid-19 pandemics imaginary health communication |
| url | http://www.medanthrotheory.org/article/view/5611 |
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