{"id":1785636,"date":"2018-05-22T08:23:48","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T12:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1785636"},"modified":"2018-05-22T08:23:48","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T12:23:48","slug":"inaccurate-maps-of-the-ebola-virus-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2018\/05\/inaccurate-maps-of-the-ebola-virus-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Inaccurate Maps of the Ebola Virus Outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
World Health Organization<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Atlantic<\/em>\u2019s Ed Yong looks at a problem in the public health response to this month’s Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo: inaccurate maps of the areas affected by the virus<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the World Health Organization released a map showing parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that are currently being affected by Ebola. The map showed four cases in Wangata, one of three \u201chealth zones\u201d in the large city of Mbandaka. Wangata, according to the map, lies north of the main city, in a forested area on the other side of a river.<\/p>\n

That is not where Wangata is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually here, in the middle of Mbandaka city,\u201d says Cyrus Sinai, indicating a region about 8 miles farther south, on a screen that he shares with me over Skype.<\/p>\n

Almost all the maps of the outbreak zone that have thus far been released contain mistakes of this kind. Different health organizations all seem to use their own maps<\/a>, most of which contain significant discrepancies. Things are roughly in the right place, but their exact positions can be off by miles, as can the boundaries between different regions. […]<\/p>\n

To be clear, there\u2019s no evidence that these problems are hampering the response to the current outbreak. It\u2019s not like doctors are showing up in the middle of the forest, wondering why they\u2019re in the wrong place. \u201cEveryone on the ground knows where the health zones start and end,\u201d says Sinai. \u201cI don\u2019t think this will make or break the response. But you surely want the most accurate data.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The WHO map in question, reproduced at the top of this post, can be found here<\/a>. See Virology Down Under\u2019s roundup of maps put out by the various NGOs<\/a>, which the Atlantic<\/em> article\u00a0refers to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Atlantic\u2019s Ed Yong looks at a problem in the public health response to this month’s Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo: inaccurate maps of the areas affected by the virus. On… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[155,110],"tags":[228,1209,1210,1211],"class_list":["post-1785636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-health","category-map-errors","tag-disease","tag-dr-congo","tag-ebola","tag-who","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1788449,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/02\/comparing-covid-2019-to-earlier-outbreaks\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785636,"position":0},"title":"Comparing COVID-19 to Earlier Outbreaks","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"20 February 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"Yet another interactive map tracking the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, this one from Dr. Edward Parker of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It compares COVID-19 to other recent outbreaks, with map layers showing the spread of H1N1, SARS, and the 2014 Ebola outbreak. [Maps Mania]","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"screenshot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/covid-tracker-screenshot-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/covid-tracker-screenshot-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/covid-tracker-screenshot-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/covid-tracker-screenshot-1024x576.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1788479,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/02\/kenneth-field-on-how-to-map-the-coronavirus-outbreak-responsibly\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785636,"position":1},"title":"Kenneth Field on How to Map the Coronavirus Outbreak Responsibly","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"27 February 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"Kenneth Field has made no bones about his frustration with maps of the COVID-19 outbreak, many of which have presented data in ways that are at best misleading. A simple choropleth map isn\u2019t always simple. He\u2019s put his thoughts on what not to do, and what to do instead, in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":637,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/01\/mapping-the-zika-virus-and-the-problems-with-doing-so\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785636,"position":2},"title":"Mapping the Zika Virus (and the Problems with Doing So)","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"31 January 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"Maps about the Zika virus have been cropping up lately. I've been reluctant to post them, initially because I didn't want to play\u00a0a role in whipping up unnecessary panic, but also because\u2014the more I looked at them\u2014many of the maps are problematic in and of themselves. Some, like this CDC\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1789027,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/07\/georgias-covid-19-maps-bad-faith-or-bad-design\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785636,"position":3},"title":"Georgia\u2019s COVID-19 Maps: Bad Faith or Bad Design?","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"18 July 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"In How to Lie with Maps, Mark Monmonier warns that map readers \u201cmust watch out for statistical maps carefully contrived to prove the points of self-promoting scientists, manipulating politicians, misleading advertisers, and other propagandists. Meanwhile, this is an area in which the widespread use of mapping software has made unintentional\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dph-ga-screencap-twitter-1024x577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dph-ga-screencap-twitter-1024x577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dph-ga-screencap-twitter-1024x577.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dph-ga-screencap-twitter-1024x577.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1788258,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/01\/tracking-the-wuhan-coronavirus\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785636,"position":4},"title":"Tracking the Wuhan Coronavirus","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"28 January 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"Johns Hopkins University\u2019s CSSE has created an interactive map and online dashboard to track the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus. Details at their blog post: The case data visualized is collected from various sources, including WHO, U.S. CDC, ECDC, China CDC (CCDC), NHC and DXY. DXY is a Chinese website\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/health\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/csse-wuhan-screenshot-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/csse-wuhan-screenshot-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/csse-wuhan-screenshot-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/csse-wuhan-screenshot-1024x576.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1788795,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/04\/how-to-make-an-illustrated-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1785636,"position":5},"title":"How to Make an Illustrated Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"27 April 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"In the travel section of yesterday\u2019s New York Times, map illustrator Nate Padavick offers a way to make lemonade from travel-restriction lemons with a short guide to making an illustrated map (pictorial map, map illustration\u2014the terms are roughly interchangeable) of a favourite place\u2014a neighbourhood, a vacation spot, \u201ca place you\u2019ve\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Five Squares + One Triangle in My Neighborhood (Nate Padavick)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/padavick-nytimes-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/padavick-nytimes-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/padavick-nytimes-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/padavick-nytimes-1024x1024.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1785636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1785636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1785636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1785640,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1785636\/revisions\/1785640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1785636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1785636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1785636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}