Mass Media–Induced Availability Bias in the Clinical Suspicion of West Nile Fever
Authors: Mayer Brezis, Daphna Halpern-Reichert, Mitchell J. Schwaber
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2004)

Letters3 February 2004Mass Media–Induced Availability Bias in the Clinical Suspicion of West Nile FeverMayer Brezis, MD, MPH, Daphna Halpern-Reichert, MPH, and Mitchell J. Schwaber, MD, MScMayer Brezis, MD, MPHFrom Hebrew University–Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem 91120, Israel, and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv 64239, Israel., Daphna Halpern-Reichert, MPHFrom Hebrew University–Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem 91120, Israel, and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv 64239, Israel., and Mitchell J. Schwaber, MD, MScFrom Hebrew University–Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem 91120, Israel, and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv 64239, Israel.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-140-3-200402030-00024 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Background: The mass media can magnify the public perception of a risk to health, sometimes to the degree of mass hysteria (1, 2). Since awareness of a diagnosis influences the clinical perception of its likelihood (availability bias) (3-6), we wondered whether media coverage of a disease might contribute to such a cognitive bias.Objective: We chose recent outbreaks of West Nile fever in Israel and in the United States, which received widespread press coverage, to examine the relationship between the intensity of media coverage and the clinical suspicion of a disease, as expressed by the extent of ...References1. Modan B, Swartz TA, Tirosh M, Costin C, Weissenberg E, Donagi A, et al . The Arjenyattah epidemic. A mass phenomenon: spread and triggering factors. Lancet. 1983;2:1472-4. [PMID: 6140559] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Coke adds life, but cannot always explain it [Editorial]. Lancet. 1999;354:173. [PMID: 10421291] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Tversky A, Kahneman D. Judgement under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Science. 1974;185:1124-31. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Poses RM, Anthony M. Availability, wishful thinking, and physicians' diagnostic judgments for patients with suspected bacteremia. Med Decis Making. 1991;11:159-68. [PMID: 1881270] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Dawson NV, Arkes HR. Systematic errors in medical decision making: judgment limitations. J Gen Intern Med. 1987;2:183-7. [PMID: 3295150] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Elstein AS. Heuristics and biases: selected errors in clinical reasoning. Acad Med. 1999;74:791-4. [PMID: 10429587] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Epidemic/Epizootic West Nile Virus in the United States: Guidelines for Surveillance, Prevention, and Control. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service. Accessed at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/resources/wnv-guidelines-aug-2003.pdf in September 2003. Google Scholar8. Lanciotti RS, Roehrig JT, Deubel V, Smith J, Parker M, Steele K, et al . Origin of the West Nile virus responsible for an outbreak of encephalitis in the northeastern United States. Science. 1999;286:2333-7. [PMID: 10600742] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Ross SE. "Memes" as infectious agents in psychosomatic illness. Ann Intern Med. 1999;131:867-71. [PMID: 10610639] LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Hebrew University–Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem 91120, Israel, and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel-Aviv 64239, Israel.Acknowledgment: The authors thank Dr. Ella Mendelson from the National Laboratory of Virology, Tel Hashomer, Israel, and Dr. Randall Nelson from the Department of Public Health, Hartford, Connecticut, for providing data on tests sent to their laboratories. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee Also"Memes" as Infectious Agents in Psychosomatic Illness Stephen E. Ross Metrics Cited ByBehavioral Economics: A Primer and Applications to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well-Being"First, know thyself": cognition and error in medicineWest Nile fever in Israel: The reemergence of an endemic diseaseExposure to Media Information About a Disease Can Cause Doctors to Misdiagnose Similar-Looking Clinical CasesCognitive diagnostic error in internal medicineVolume of print media coverage and diagnostic testing for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus during the early phase of the 2009 pandemicEl impacto sanitario de los medios de comunicación en las alertas sanitarias. El caso de la gripe aviaria 3 February 2004Volume 140, Issue 3Page: 234-235KeywordsAntibodiesDatabasesInfectious diseasesPerceptionPrevention, policy, and public healthResearch laboratoriesSARS coronavirusVirologyWest Nile FeverWest Nile virus ePublished: 3 February 2004 Issue Published: 3 February 2004 CopyrightCopyright © 2004 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...