News / Health
Ebola is a 'form of population control'?
15 Oct 2014 at 07:46hrs | Views
R&B singer Chris Brown has been ridiculed for a bizarre outburst on Twitter in which he claimed the killer Ebola virus is a "form of population control".
The outspoken artist tweeted his thoughts on the epidemic, which has killed more than 4 000 people in West Africa as well as one person in the US
Brown wrote: "I don't know. . . But I think this Ebola epidemic is a form of population control."
Three minutes after the tweet, following ridicule from some of his 13,6 million followers, he backtracked and said: "Let me shut up!"
His first post received nearly 9,500 re-tweets and has not been deleted by the singer.
It did not take long for people to latch on to Brown's tweet, with dozens of people criticising his odd conspiracy theory.
Comedian Warren Holstein tweeted: ‘Chris Brown tweeted that Ebola is "a form of population control." He should try it.'
Kevin Hildebrand said: "Let's keep in mind that Chris Brown is a complete idiot, so his theory of Ebola is equal to a rant from a village idiot."
Wayne Durham tweeted: "The stupid gene is strong in Chris Brown."
The US began screening people travelling from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - the worst-hit nations - for Ebola at numerous airports on Saturday.
Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, was the first person to die of Ebola on US soil, after travelling to America from Liberia in September.
This weekend, a nurse who treated Mr Duncan was confirmed as having Ebola. Nina Pham, 26, from Fort Worth, Texas, is being held in isolation at Texas Presbyterian and is said to be in a stable condition.
The UK is also conducting medical checks on people entering the country, and held a major exercise last week to ensure the emergency services were prepared for a first Ebola case.
The World Health Organisation has called the Ebola outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times".
There is no vaccine for the virus, with the UN expecting the outbreak to continue for at least three months.
The World Health Organisation today called the Ebola outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times".
It added that economic disruption can be curbed if people are educated so they don't make any irrational moves to dodge infection.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, citing World Bank figures, said 90 per cent of economic costs of any outbreak "come from irrational and disorganised efforts of the public to avoid infection."
"We are seeing, right now, how this virus can disrupt economies and societies around the world," she said, but added that adequately educating the public was a "good defence strategy" and would allow governments to prevent economic disruptions.
The outspoken artist tweeted his thoughts on the epidemic, which has killed more than 4 000 people in West Africa as well as one person in the US
Brown wrote: "I don't know. . . But I think this Ebola epidemic is a form of population control."
Three minutes after the tweet, following ridicule from some of his 13,6 million followers, he backtracked and said: "Let me shut up!"
His first post received nearly 9,500 re-tweets and has not been deleted by the singer.
It did not take long for people to latch on to Brown's tweet, with dozens of people criticising his odd conspiracy theory.
Comedian Warren Holstein tweeted: ‘Chris Brown tweeted that Ebola is "a form of population control." He should try it.'
Kevin Hildebrand said: "Let's keep in mind that Chris Brown is a complete idiot, so his theory of Ebola is equal to a rant from a village idiot."
Wayne Durham tweeted: "The stupid gene is strong in Chris Brown."
The US began screening people travelling from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - the worst-hit nations - for Ebola at numerous airports on Saturday.
Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, was the first person to die of Ebola on US soil, after travelling to America from Liberia in September.
This weekend, a nurse who treated Mr Duncan was confirmed as having Ebola. Nina Pham, 26, from Fort Worth, Texas, is being held in isolation at Texas Presbyterian and is said to be in a stable condition.
The UK is also conducting medical checks on people entering the country, and held a major exercise last week to ensure the emergency services were prepared for a first Ebola case.
The World Health Organisation has called the Ebola outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times".
There is no vaccine for the virus, with the UN expecting the outbreak to continue for at least three months.
The World Health Organisation today called the Ebola outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times".
It added that economic disruption can be curbed if people are educated so they don't make any irrational moves to dodge infection.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, citing World Bank figures, said 90 per cent of economic costs of any outbreak "come from irrational and disorganised efforts of the public to avoid infection."
"We are seeing, right now, how this virus can disrupt economies and societies around the world," she said, but added that adequately educating the public was a "good defence strategy" and would allow governments to prevent economic disruptions.
Source - Daily Mail
