Even though the recent death of a student in Calabar is not Ebola related, there is need to be vigilant
Nigerians were recently jolted by the news that filtered in from Calabar, Cross River State, of an alleged outbreak of Ebola virus. The instant reaction for many was: “Oh no, not again!” Not after the havoc the virus had caused and the trauma that followed. There was therefore a sigh of relief when the health authorities eventually confirmed that there was no Ebola -related death in Calabar. The relief however came with some lessons.
The panic started with the death of a student at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, where he was admitted after his family brought him in. Officials recorded some 37-degree-celsius fever, diarrhea and other symptoms suggesting a haemorrhagic fever, thereby likening the symptoms to Ebola. While he died seven hours later, laboratory tests have ruled out Ebola and Lassa fever as the cause of death of the 21-year-old male student simply identified as Eyamba. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Linus Awute further reassured that more tests were ongoing to ascertain the cause of his death.
However, immediately the case was reported, a team of experts were dispatched from Abuja to Calabar, which went into action by isolating at least 10 health workers and others who were in contact with the student and were immediately quarantined. The all-10 people were to remain in quarantine until a definite cause of the student’s death was determined.
Many Nigerians have commended both the federal and Cross River State governments for the swift response in dealing with the case, saying that if such alertness is attached in managing other diseases as they break, Nigeria would be the better for it. More noteworthy is that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that one of the candidate vaccines developed in a research project by pharmaceutical company Merck Sharp and Dohme has been found to offer 100 per cent protection against Ebola in humans. Great news though, but the WHO said more conclusive evidence was needed to prove the vaccine’s capacity to protect populations through what is called “herd immunity”.
Notwithstanding, Nigerians are advised to continue to observe good hygienic behaviour that includes hand washing, hand sanitisation and general environmental cleanliness. The sanitisers that disappeared from the banks’ entrances, schools, offices and the thermometers that have disappeared from the local and international and local airports as well as other border entries should be restored as a means of constantly monitoring people until it’s confirmed that the virus is exterminated from Africa.
Nigerians need to be reminded that of all known diseases, Ebola is deadly because it kills victims within a week of infection, leaving little or no time for treatment. It has no known vaccine or cure and it has most of the symptoms of malaria: fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, etc. The virus spreads by contact with infected blood and bodily fluids and it takes between two days to three weeks before the complete symptoms manifest. However, when the first case broke, the Nigerian government and the health authorities reacted appropriately.
With the whole nation put on high alert, many states across the federation and the health authorities did their best, especially in dispelling baseless rumours, discouraging unhelpful practices and rolling out a comprehensive awareness campaign in major indigenous languages. At all the major entry points, there were also Ebola screening while schools were closed for a certain period in the bid to control the spread of the disease. Eventually, all the efforts paid off. But the lesson from that experience is simple: Ebola is deadly and eternal vigilance remains Nigeria’s first line of defence against the scourge.
