THERE is palpable fear among Nigerians as the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) spreads across West Africa with 137 cases and 86 deaths since January. Indeed, with confirmed cases in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and now Mali, who are Nigeria’s neighbours, Western Africa, is bracing against an unprecedented outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
The Guardian investigation revealed that most Nigerians fear that since there is no known cure or vaccine against the extremely infectious and deadly disease and with a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent, an outbreak in the country would be very devastating.
The panic by Nigerians is validated by reports by the non-governmental organisation, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), that although death tolls in the past have been higher than in Guinea so far, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2001 and Uganda the year before, cases this time have been found far apart, not geographically concentrated.
An epidemiologist with MSF, in Guinea, Dr. Michel Van Herp, said: “We are facing a scale that has never been seen before, looking at the number of cases in different areas.”
Van Herp said: “We are facing the most aggressive strain of Ebola, the Zaire strain. It kills more than nine out of 10 people infected.”
According to a report published on Sunday by The Independent UK, when everyone is an apparent threat, a potential carrier of the deadly Ebola virus, panic inevitably rises.
Joe Krishany wrote: “As rumours spread that Ebola could be caught by breathing the same air as the victims, that fear turned into violence.
“Since the outbreak of the deadly strain of Zaire Ebola in Guinea in February, about 90 people have died as the disease has spread to neighbouring Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mali. The outbreak has sent shock waves through communities who know little of the disease or how it is transmitted. The cases in Mali have added to fears that it is spreading through West Africa.”
A spokesman for MSF said that a treatment centre where patients were isolated in Macenta, 265 miles south-east of Guinea’s capital, Conakry, had come under attack from an “angry crowd” who accused health workers of bringing the disease to the town, where at least 14 people have died from Ebola.
MSF spokesman Sam Taylor said: “We have evacuated all our members of staff and closed the treatment centre. We’re working with the authorities to try and resolve this problem as quickly as possible so we can start treating people again.”
He later told Bloomberg: “We fully understand that the outbreak of Ebola is alarming for the local population, but it is essential in the fight against the disease that patients remain in the treatment centre.”
Meanwhile, trust in the authorities in Conakry reached low ebb on Friday, with many residents blaming the government for not immediately quarantining an individual who was said to have carried the virus to the capital from the remote and heavily-forested south, where the bulk of the cases are concentrated.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) spokesman said 16 cases have been reported in Conakry, of which five people have died.
Identified in 1976 in former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, this is the first time Ebola has struck in Guinea. It is also thought to have spread to Liberia, Sierra Leona and Mali.
The natural host of this virus is thought to be essentially bats and other animals. Health officials have told people not to eat wild meat. Infected humans can pass the virus on through sex and direct contact with blood, mucus and other bodily fluids.
Prof. Jean-Jacques Muyembe said: “We think the big bats who eat fruit are the main carriers, but we still have to confirm this. The only way to fight Ebola is by practising good hygiene and interrupting the train of transmission, meaning detect the disease rapidly - the people who are already infected - and isolate them.”
Ebola goes from sore throat to fever, muscle pain, headaches, vomiting, diarrhoea, organ failure and blood loss. Death can take from days to weeks.
Infectious Disease physician at WHO, who provides clinical care to Ebola patients in the Guinean capital, Conakry, Dr. Tom Fletcher, said: “Today’s discharge of patients shows that Ebola is not always fatal. Good, early supportive care such as hydration, nutrition and appropriate medication can have a positive impact.
“…Health workers are often among the victims in the early stage of the outbreak, as they are in direct contact with infected persons. Helping them to protect themselves and also ensuring appropriate treatment for patients are key to providing equity of access to life-saving interventions”, says Dr. Fletcher.
Beside clinical management, WHO, the Ministry of Health and their partners continue to implement measures to respond to the outbreak, including contact tracing, disease surveillance, laboratory work, logistics, as well as information-sharing and communication are all essential elements of the response.
Source: Guardian
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