Beware, Ebola virus is dangerous

Just in case you missed the newsflash this week, the deadly Ebola virus, for the first time, has found its way into West Africa, a region that Nigeria is part of.

The outbreak, which began in Guinea’s south eastern forest region last month, is causing widespread panic as death toll rises and the outbreak continues to spread,

According to media reports, more than 125 cases have been documented across three countries — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone; and as of the last count, about 82 persons have lost their lives to this tropical virus.

What Ebola is

The World Health Organisation describes the Ebola Virus Disease as a viral haemorrhagic fever and one of the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind.

Ebola is regarded in the medical world as the deadliest virus on earth, not only because it has no known cure, but also because it is one of the world’s lethal infections: it could kill within hours or few days of symptoms, whether an infected person gets treatment or not.

The viral disease, whose initial symptoms can include sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and sore throat, can later progress to vomiting, diarrhoea and, in some cases, internal and external bleeding. As scary as it is, the virus does not respond to any vaccine.

The incubation period of the virus can last from two days to three weeks, and diagnosis is difficult. The human disease has so far been mostly limited to Africa, although one strain has cropped up in the Philippines. The best treatment affected persons get is therapy.

Though the Federal Government has said there is no cause for alarm, since no case has been found in Nigeria so far, there is the need for everyone to do what is necessary to prevent getting infected.

Preventing infection

Reiterating the need for residents to adopt urgent precautionary measures against the disease, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, urges members of the public to observe and maintain high standards of personal and environmental hygiene to prevent the outbreak of the highly infectious disease.

Idris notes that the main host of the virus is relatively unknown; however, he says, there is enough scientific evidence to show that Ebola virus can be contracted by persons handling sick or dead infected wild animals, including chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest antelope, and fruit bats.

He says, “Ebola virus can be spread through 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 monkey and chimpanzee cannot be ruled out.”

Idris states that those at the highest risk of contracting the disease include health care workers who treat patients without taking the right precautions to avoid infection; and families or friends of an infected person who could be infected in the course of feeding, holding and caring for the sick.

He 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. Even those who come in contact with body fluids of a person killed by this virus are not exempted!

Recognise the risk

He adds 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, saying that these game meats were considered delicacies in the areas where the outbreak started.

Counsel for health workers

The global body advises health workers to be at alert; wear personal protective equipment, observe universal basic precautions when attending to suspected or confirmed cases, and report to the local health authorities immediately.

 Other measures, which include washing of hands often with soap and water, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and ensuring that objects used by the sick are decontaminated and properly disposed, are also meant to reduce the risk of infection.

PUNCHNG