Ebola, Culture and Politics: The Anthropology of an Emerging Disease

by Barry S. Hewlett, Bonnie L. Hewlett

In this case study, readers will embark on an improbable journey through the heart of Africa to discover how indigenous people cope with the rapid-killing Ebola virus. The Hewletts are the first anthropologists ever invited by the World Health Organization to join a medical intervention team and assist in efforts to control an Ebola outbreak. Their account addresses political, structural, psychological, and cultural factors, along with conventional intervention protocols as problematic to achieving medical objectives. They find obvious historical and cultural answers to otherwise-puzzling questions about why village people often flee, refuse to cooperate, and sometimes physically attack members of intervention teams. Perhaps surprisingly, readers will discover how some cultural practices of local people are helpful and should be incorporated into control procedures. The authors shed new light on a continuing debate about the motivation for human behavior by showing how local responses to epidemics are rooted both in culture and in human nature. Well-supported recommendations emerge from a comparative analysis of Central African cases and pandemics worldwide to suggest how the United States and other countries might use anthropologists and the insights of anthropologists to mount more effective public health campaigns, with particular attention to avian flu and bioterrorism.

Genres: Anthropology, Medical, Science, Nonfiction, Social Issues, Medicine, Africa

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2007

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad for a class book. Got slightly repetitive and uninteresting as it went on. Wouldn't have read it if I wasn't assigned to, but I did learn some things from it.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Hewlett teaches at Washington State University where I studied anthropology. This book discusses how the Ebola outbreak was handled before and after the involvement of medical anthropologists with the CDC and how Dr. Barry Hewlett became the first medical anthropologist to have been called to work alongside CDC in a high profile situation, and have since opened the door for more anthropologists to become involved.
It's admirable work especially in portraying the utility of anthropologists and how essential their roles could be in providing a more conducive environment for researchers and local people to mutually benefit from one another without treating them as just another "test subject".

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great recount of the beginning trials and hardships of Ebola--it brings forth a new perspective (anthropologically) that should be considered when thinking of widespread medical crises.

[Emma Belica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very boring like informative but in like a mind numbing way

[MissPosabule · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the Appendix at the end of the book explaining how medical anthropologists can aide in an epidemic was particularly insightful and worth reviewing.

[thea bre · Rating 1 out of 5]

the most repetitive book i have ever read in my entire life

[Thomas Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to understand why Ebola seems to be out of control in West Africa, Hewlett's book will give you some insights. True the examples are not from today's sites but how the disease spreads, how culture contributes to this and how the inability of government's to provide for health needs are all explained here. More over, the author shows how anthropological understanding can make dealing with these issues can be improved thereby contributing to more effective interventions.

[Saira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book for the undergrad level and teaching the applied perspective in medical anthropology, but it gets a bit redundant towards the end.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a book to read in the current day and age~

[Joel Michael Samaduroff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Great info. This provides one of the only authentic medical anthropology intervention methods that are formally recognized and incorporated into the WHO outbreak procedure!