As expected, reports last week of the first known Nigerian fatality from the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease have spread panic across the land where about 170 million people are potentially at risk. Within a space of three weeks, a period long enough for an infected person to manifest the symptoms and die, Nigeria has transformed from an Ebola-free country to one of the four considered as potential sources of spreading it to other parts of the world.
Aside from the first case of the Liberian, Patrick Sawyer, who threw caution to the winds and flew into Nigeria on July 20, when supposedly under observation in his country, there are now 177 Nigerians either dead, quarantined or under observation. All of them trace their current status to the contact they had, directly or indirectly, with the index case. On Monday, the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, announced that another nurse who attended to Sawyer had contracted the disease, bringing the total number of Ebola patients so far to 10. For a disease that, as yet, has no known cure and has already claimed over 932 lives as of last week across the four West African states of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and, of course, Nigeria, there is the need for a coordinated national response to contain its spread. President Goodluck Jonathan has also promised to meet with the 36 states governors and their Commissioners of Health tomorrow to rescue the nation from further spread of these most dangerous pathogens.
But as the highly contagious disease continues its rampant spread, what is evident so far has been the various states coming out with separate pronouncements and actions; no centralised, concerted or coordinated response. While some are placing emphasis on certification of dead bodies coming into their territories, others are interested in an outright ban on such corpses, either from other parts of the country or from abroad. This is not good enough for an epidemic that can potentially wipe out entire villages and towns, if sloppily managed.
The need for Nigeria to get her act together cannot be overemphasised, given that the country found herself in the current position because actions that should have been taken months earlier were ignored. Countries acting proactively are already taking precautionary measures to ensure that the disease does not take them unawares. Some, for instance, had stopped flights from Ebola-affected countries, even before the current World Health Organisation-recommended travel restriction came into effect.
For a disease that has no cure or vaccine, almost 40 years after its discovery, the only proven way to deal with an outbreak remains limiting its spread. This is where massive public enlightenment becomes imperative. People should be aware of the need to avoid crowded places, where body contact is inevitable, since the disease is spread through contact with an infected person’s body fluids – saliva, urine, vomit, faeces, blood, semen, tears and sweat, among other body secretions. Claims of a cure should be ignored.
The West African situation has got this bad because of the poor health infrastructure, ignorance, culture and traditions that tend to aid its spread, a good example being funeral ceremonies. In Africa, the dead are washed, dressed and made to look good before burial; yet the dead body of an Ebola victim is highly toxic. Even in cases where people are suspected of having contracted the disease, relations have been reported in places such as Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia of insisting on caring for their sick. Such people eventually get infected and the contagion continues.
Cases of people chasing away health workers and recovering bodies of dead relations or taking away sick and quarantined ones have also been reported. These are practices that should be avoided in Nigeria. It is even advisable for the sick to ensure they reduce contact with family members if indeed they love and care for them. Why risk exposing them to a disease that has up to 90 per cent mortality rate?
In the absence of adequate information, mischief makers have taken over, telling ignorant relations that Ebola can be cured by eating bitter cola or taking a lethal salt solution bath. While these rumours must be quickly dispelled, there should be adequate promotion of personal hygiene, especially hand-washing on a regular basis.
Jonathan may have declared the outbreak a national emergency – just like the WHO has done – but this can only be meaningful if the N1.9 billion he earmarked to fight the disease is used judiciously. Since medical workers who are expected to spearhead the fight are the most at risk, the Federal Government should ensure adequate procurement of protective gears for their use. There should also be enough body bags for evacuation and proper disposal of bodies of dead victims. What is needed is a general improvement in the level of health infrastructure. People should not forget that until the last case of Ebola is dealt with, the whole world will continue to be at risk.
