ANOTHER dead victim, and three suspected infections later, reported in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital a day after the Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu’s claim of successful containment of the disease are bound to raise fresh fears. Yet, it is still reasonable to agree that the outbreak has been well managed, especially considering the figures from the World Health Organisation, which said on Thursday, that more than 1,552 people had died from 3,069 cases of Ebola in the three West African countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The global health agency also warned that “the actual number of cases may be two-or-three times higher than that currently reported.”
What that means is that there are still so many people out there that have been infected but have not been identified for treatment and quarantine. This is exactly what happened with the Port Harcourt case, where a doctor died because a person who had contact with the index case fled, unnoticed, to the city, fell ill and submitted himself for treatment in a hotel. Ironically, while that harbinger of death survived, the doctor who treated him died.
The lesson of the Port Harcourt case is that Nigeria still has a long way to go before actually announcing the total eradication of the deadly virus, which has also been reported in Congo Democratic Republic, the original birthplace of the disease, where it was first identified in 1976. Going by WHO’s prognostication, it is expected that more than 20,000 people will come under the Ebola affliction before it would be finally contained.
Experts, including infectious disease researcher Dr. Ian Michelow and virologist Professor Oyewole Tomori, say it is unlikely that Ebola virus can be eradicated from nature. “Therefore, the goal is to develop robust vaccines to prevent and treat the disease in humans and effective therapeutics for humans who develop the disease,” Michelow argues. And so for a disease that has no known cure or vaccines, reports so far on the response plans of the health authorities have been encouraging. Chukwu, who had earlier put the number of EVD cases diagnosed in Nigeria at 13, including the index case, was full of confidence as he announced on Monday, August 25, that only one case was still at the treatment centre in Yaba, Lagos. He explained that five people had lost their lives while seven had been discharged after they were given a clean bill of health. Even then, that one remaining case was said to be responding well to treatment.
That Nigeria’s response so far has attracted commendation from the United States, the United Nations and WHO is an indication that those who should act are taking the right actions. That effort, and even more, must continue. Hospitals must be vigilant to make sure that anybody that displays symptoms similar to that of EVD is immediately referred to appropriate screening centres for proper screening and diagnosis.
This outbreak should be an opportunity for capacity building of the health care system. One of the reasons why EVD has been spreading in West Africa like wildfire, according to experts, is because of poor state of the health infrastructure. This should be an opportunity to equip Nigeria’s health facilities and bring them to acceptable standards, comparable to those found in other parts of the civilised world. Adequate units of protective gear should also be made available to health workers, who have been evidently the worst hit so far.
Other countries have taken the extreme measures of closing their borders and stopping flights from some risk countries, even against the advice of WHO, which says that the risk of transmission by flight is low. But since the Nigerian government does not seem to be favourably disposed to outright shutting of our borders, the screening of incoming passengers currently going on at the international airports should also be extended to the land entry points.
At personal levels, there is a lot that can be done to stay safe. Daring such a deadly disease under the happy delusion of religion or culture may turn fatal for the country. There is the need to cultivate and sustain the habit of personal hygiene, which can go a long way in keeping EVD at bay. Simple things like frequent hand-washing or the use of hand sanitisers are recommended. Avoiding crowded places and such social behaviour as handshaking and embracing have also been advised. WHO says that people should keep away from funeral ceremonies as the dead bodies of Ebola infected people are known to be highly lethal.
Hiding a sick Ebola patient at home is one of the easiest ways of spreading the disease and, indeed, has been identified as one of the reasons why the epidemic is raging in Liberia. Until the last case of Ebola is dealt with, nobody can be said to be safe in the country.
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