‘Worried Sick’: Meningitis Risk Haunts 14,000

This article was published today in the New York Times and focuses on the possibility of patients being infected with meningitis as a result of being injected with a certain steroid drug. Certain batches of these steroids resulted in patients being contaminated by a mold that could lead to meningitis.  Denise Grady, the author, draws the reader in by starting with a personal account of the situation.  The inclusion of this story starts the article off with pathos.  The article begins to transition when Grady states, "So far, 282 have contracted meningitis, and 23 have died, in a national outbreak linked to a contaminated drug made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass."  She begins to back up her story with facts and statements from doctors. The article then shifts from logos back to pathos as Grady ends the article with another personal story.  By framing the article with two personal stories, she is able to express how deeply this scenario has begun to effect the lives of multiple Americans.  The personal stories but a meaning behind all of the facts and show the severity of the situation for those infected. Her tactic is very effective because it relays the importance of this medical mistake, while also establishing credibility behind the stories.