Media Coverage 'Affects Opinions of Disease'

The way in which infectious diseases are portrayed in the media have an effect on how people perceive them, it has been claimed.

Research, published in the Public Library of Science: One, found that diseases which make regular appearances in the print media are seen to be more dangerous than those which do not receive the same amount of coverage.

One of the study's lead authors, Meredith Young, said: "The media tend to focus on rare and dramatic events."

She added that when a certain disease receives a lot of coverage, people naturally focus on it and it is therefore seen as more dangerous.

However, the researchers found that when the facts about different diseases were offered, the effect of media reports on the danger of diseases was not as strong. Researchers therefore believe that people can overcome the influence of media articles on health when they are presented with nothing but balanced facts.

Therefore, "objective" reporting of different diseases is needed, the researchers added.

Research into this project was conducted at McMaster University.

A number of different diseases have in recent years been latched on to by the press. These include SARS, bird flu and, particularly in the UK, MRSA.