Dr. James Thompson
Psychological Comments
October 11, 2014
Given a viral disease which is transmitted by contact with the contaminated bodily fluids of infected dying and dead people such that each case can lead to 2 new cases, and for which there is no known cure, though rehydration and basic nursing improve outcomes somewhat, which of the following is the best strategy to save the most lives?
In each case, chose either A or B.
Q1
A) Encourage infectious dying patients to be brought by relatives to treatment centres where they cannot be treated, thus infecting the people who cannot treat them and the people who brought them in. Bury the corpses. Try to trace the families and contacts of the dead person by going to visit them, and ask them to come to the treatment centres. If they do come, try to treat them, and bury the corpses.
B) Encourage possible cases to stay at home, and provide their families with palliative treatment and disinfectant packs. Maintain guard over the house. Incinerate the corpses. Quarantine families, and repeat the process, including incineration of bodies and incinerating the contaminated house and belongings.
Q2
A) When you find corpses in the street, get a team to lift them into a truck, gather all the corpses you find and then carry them all to a burial ground.
B) When you find a corpse in the street, incinerate it on the spot.
Q3
A) Guarantee any Western helper that they will be flown back to their home country for treatment.
B) Guarantee any Western helper that they will be treated in local facilities.
Q4
A) Let travellers from West Africa come to the West and if they turn out to have Ebola, treat them, trace their Western contacts and treat those contacts.
B) Ban air travel from West Africa, or make travellers go through a three week quarantine.
Q5
A) When African boat people approach Italy, get the Italian Navy to take them to Italy.
B) When African boat people approach Italy, get the Italian Navy to take them back to Africa.
Scoring system: The higher the number of A scores you achieve, the higher the probability that you are an expert. The higher the number of B scores you achieve, the higher the probability that you are an ignorant, fear-mongering, panic-stricken, trouble-maker.