El TRATAMIENTO PERIODÍSTICO DE LAS NOTICIAS RELACIONADAS CON LOS VIRUS DEL DENGUE Y ZIKA EN LOS MEDIOS DIGITALES DE HONDURAS (2010-2017)

Abstract

In 1979, the first dengue epidemic in Honduras was identified. In 2010, the Honduran health and governmental authorities decreed what would be the fifth epidemic affecting the population. Five years later, an emerging disease came to the American continent: Zika. International entities such as the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization extended the alert to a Latin American level, especially to those countries most vulnerable given their geographical, climatological and socioeconomic situations. The objective of this study is to analyze the content of the news that were published on the dengue and zika viruses in three digital newspapers of Honduras (El Heraldo, La Tribuna, and La Prensa) during the 2010-2017 period. The research has been carried out with a sample of documents selected through the constructed week sampling method. This sample has been applied in a spreadsheet that included quantitative and qualitative fields. The results show us the scant coverage of these pathologies from the point of view of diffusion of scientific knowledge, as well as from the social agenda. There is evidence of the absence of journalistic specialization within the framework of digital journalism for science communication and health issues.