Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10397/109371
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Title: Protecting the public’s health during novel infectious disease outbreaks
Authors: Cummings, L 
Issue Date: 2024
Source: Cummings, L. Protecting the public’s health during novel infectious disease outbreaks. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024
Abstract: This Element examines two prominent public health crises – the emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in British cattle and the COVID-19 pandemic. It contends that a group of arguments called the informal fallacies functioned as cognitive heuristics and facilitated public health reasoning during both crises. These arguments, which include the argument from ignorance, the argument from authority, and circular argument, are particularly well adapted to the type of uncertainty that surrounds the emergence of novel infectious diseases. By bridging gaps in knowledge, these arguments can facilitate reasoning when evidence about these diseases is limited and the need to take action is urgent. The Element charts a public health journey beginning in the 1950s with a disease called kuru, then examines the response to the emergence of BSE in 1986 and extends to the present day with the COVID-19 pandemic. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Keywords: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
COVID-19
Infectious disease
Informal fallacies
Public health
ISBN: 978-1-009-47876-2 (Hardback)
978-1-009-34263-6 (Paperback)
DOI: 10.1017/9781009342667
Rights: © Louise Cummings 2024
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, with the exception of the Creative Commons version the link for which is provided below, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press& Assessment.
An online version of this work is published at doi.org/10.1017/9781009342667 under a Creative Commons Open Access license CC-BY-NC 4.0 which permits re-use, distribution and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes providing appropriate credit to the original work is given and any changes made are indicated. To view a copy of this license visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0.
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