A debate is ongoing if Olympic Games should be cancelled, moved or delayed because of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern declared by WHO on 1st February 2016 on microcephaly in Brazil, which is being proven to be associated with Zika infection. On May 25th, 150 experts in bioethics, public health and social sciences signed an open letter to the WHO, asking to skip the Games, in order to avoid a further spread of the epidemic.
Gesser-Edelsburg A, Shir-Raz Y, Hayek S, Sassoni-Bar Lev O. Targeting Ebola International Congress 2015: Scientific Bases & Applications, Pasteur Institute, Paris, May 28‐29, 2015.
The greatest challenges that the organizations face is not only to convey knowledge, but also to find ways to convey comprehensive information that reflects uncertainty and empowers the public to make fact‐based decisions about health.
As the health editor of a prominent UK newspaper like The Guardian, Sarah Boseley has often faced the challenge of communicating uncertainty when dealing with health issues. This is even harder in the case of infectious disease outbreaks, when not all the information is always available from the beginning. Nevertheless, media should keep on trying to explain the public that sometimes even scientists and public health authorities have to say: “We don’t know”.
