Stay vigilant as Ebola reappears in Liberia

Perhaps, you do not know, a new case of the Ebola Virus
Disease was confirmed in Liberia last Friday. The news is
coming after the declaration of the West African country free of
the viral disease for the second time.
Currently, no fewer than 158 people are under observation in the
county. This obviously is not good news to citizens and health
officials who lost their loved ones and colleagues to Ebola at the
height of the outbreak in the country.
Interestingly, the new case is coming at a time when many
countries, including Nigeria and Liberia, think that the end has
come for the viral disease that has killed over 10,000 persons
globally.
Nigeria lost some of its brilliant professionals to the menace,
especially a senior physician, Dr. Stella Adadevoh, who handled
the treatment of the index case.
Meanwhile, the newest Liberia case has thrown up some
issues. For instance, people still wonder why there are so many
Ebola causalities. The reason, of course, is simple. It is a highly
infectious disease, such that one can contract it just by touching
a surface an infected person had earlier touched.
The virus, medics say, can stay in the body fluids, such as the
semen, for many months even after an infected person had
received treatment.
Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses, not only because it has no
known cure, but also because it is highly infections. Medics say
the disease can kill within hours or a few days after contracting
it, whether an infected person gets treatment or not.
The initial symptoms of the viral disease include sudden fever,
intense weakness, muscle pain and sore throat. It can later
progress to vomiting, diarrhoea and, in some cases, internal and
external bleeding.
Because the virus is highly infectious, it has killed both doctors
and patients while they were receiving treatment. It also does
not respond to any vaccine. It can live in the body system of an
infected person for two days to three weeks without any
symptoms.
Another attribute is that the virus is difficult to diagnose.
Doctors note that by the time the symptoms start to manifest in
an infected person, it is often too late to stop the spread of the
virus through vital organs of the body. According to them, the
best treatment an affected person can get is therapy.
Experts say we must not forget the very important lessons and
habits we learnt during from the last Ebola outbreak.
Preventing infection
Stressing the need for residents to adopt an urgent
precautionary measures against the disease, the Permanent
Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Modele
Osunkiyesi, urges members of the public to maintain high
standards of personal and environmental hygiene in order to
prevent the outbreak of the disease.
Osunkiyesi, who notes that the main host of the virus is
relatively unknown, however, adds that there is enough
scientific evidence to show that the Ebola virus can be
contracted by persons handling sick or dead infected wild
animals, including chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest
antelope, and fruit bats.
She says, “The Ebola virus can be spread through a close
contact with the blood, body fluids, organs and tissues of
infected animals; direct contact with blood, organ or body
secretions of an infected person. The transmission of the virus
by other animals like monkeys and chimpanzees cannot be
ruled out.”
Osunkiyesi states that those at the highest risk of contracting
the disease are health care workers who treat patients without
taking the right precautions as well as families or friends of an
infected person.
She notes that one could still contract the virus from an infected
person as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus —
in some cases, up to seven weeks after they have recovered.
She adds that it does not exempt even those exposed to body
fluids of a person killed by the virus.
Recognise the risk
She explains that though there is no specific treatment for the
disease, persons with symptoms — including bleeding from the
mouth, nose, rectum and ear; or those suffering from fever,
malaria and cholera — should report to health centres closest to
them, where they would be admitted for special care and treated
in isolation.
Hunters and those who eat or handle game meat of monkeys
and chimpanzees are also at risk, experts say; that is why the
WHO warns against consuming raw bush meat and forbids any
contact with infected bats, monkeys and apes. According to the
WHO, these game meats are considered as delicacies in the
areas where the outbreak started.
Wash your hands
Public health physician, Dr. Segun Adeboye, notes that there is
no overemphasising the importance of washing one’s hands
with soap and water to get rid of germs, bacteria and other
viruses.
According to him, this age-long habit has reduced the risk of
getting infections by more than 60 per cent.
Adeboye says, “Many people are aware of washing of hands,
but what we are saying is that you should use soap or a
disinfectant when you are washing your hands. That is what will
kill the bacteria or virus. Also, the hand is the body part by
which most infections are contracted. The average any person
touches his/her mouth a day is at least 10 times.
“Imagine if you had touched an infected person with your hand
unknowingly, and you do not wash your hand before eating. You
have introduced a virus into your body just by being negligent.
Science has proved that 70 per cent of infections are contracted
via the mouth through the hands.”
If you cannot access potable water every time, you can always
improvise with hand sanitisers. They are portable, which
means, you can carry one in your bag, car and in your office.”