CDC Map Fail?

UPDATE 2

HonestReporting has been in direct contact with Senior Lecturer at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Dr. Acosta-Serrano, who explains:

In relation to the maps appearing in our article recently published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Israel was omitted from them simply because we were pointing out the spread of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) within the context of human displacement and refugee crisis in the region – as far as I am aware, Israel has categorically denied entrance of Syrian refugees. Although Israelis do indeed get affected by this parasitic disease, the current cases are unlikely to be linked to the introduction of Syrian refugees within the country, which is the main point of our article. Nevertheless, as you correctly pointed out, we included the Israel epidemiological data in panel A simply to depict how the whole region is currently affected by this disease as it would have been incorrect to ignore that CL has long been endemic in Israel. I understand the reasons behind your question, but by no means was it our intention to ignore the presence of Israel as a country.

It is an unfortunate situation in academia and elsewhere that lends itself to assume that Israel’s omission on maps and elsewhere is the result of malevolent intent. Having investigated and corresponded directly with the authors of the article, we are satisfied that this is not the case here.

UPDATE 1

We are grateful to the CDC for responding and making it clear that the maps in question were not produced by the CDC itself. We understand that the CDC has also contacted the Daily Mail to point out that the attribution is incorrect.

* * *

Given the continuing campaign to delegitimize Israel as well as Iranian threats to wipe Israel from the map, the issue of Israel disappearing from official maps in the media and elsewhere is an understandably sensitive topic.

HonestReporting has exposed numerous map fails in recent times, including CNN, NPR and even the Science Channel.

Now, one HonestReporting subscriber has alerted us to a story in the Daily Mail’s Mail Online website concerning a particularly nasty tropical disease spreading across the Middle East transmitted by sand flies.

The story included these maps showing the spread of the cutaneous leishmaniasis disease.

The first map clearly shows that there have been reported cases of the disease in Israel. Yet, Israel is not named on the map. While it could be argued that this is not necessarily a map that Israel would want to appear on, it is nonetheless strange.

So we investigated further. The maps are credited to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the public health institute of the US. We located the maps on the CDC website where they are described as:

Cutaneous leishmaniasis prevalence within Syria and neighboring countries of the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2013.

It transpires that the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region does not include Israel, which is, instead part of the WHO’s European regional office. That could go some way to explaining why Israel is not on the map.

But the trail goes further. The CDC site also includes the following:

Maps were adapted from https://hiu.state.gov/Products/Syria_DisplacementRefugees_2015Apr17_HIU_U1214.pdf

A click on this link takes you to a large map of Syrian refugees produced by the US State Department’s Humanitarian Information Unit. While the map includes Jerusalem, Tel Aviv-Yafo, West Bank, Gaza and even “Golan Heights (Israeli occupied),” the map pointedly does not include the word “Israel” on the appropriate country.

Furthermore, this map is sourced to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as the US State Department.

All of which still leaves the question as to why Israel is not on the map and who exactly is responsible. The only concrete answer we have is that the Daily Mail cannot be held responsible for reproducing maps from what should be a credible source.

We’ve requested an explanation from the CDC. Watch this space.