Ebola Awareness

This morning I turned on my radio and the first word I heard was Ebola. Out of hunger for knowledge of this dreaded disease, I listened. The station was Top Radio 90.9 and Dr Yetunde was the guest on the show. I did get informed and was happy I listened. After the program, I tuned to the next station to listen to something else, and it was Ebola again! I looked at my phone, it was 92.3 Inspiration FM and the guest was Dr Kehinde Ososanya. I decided to listen because I realised that the situation was way more serious than I took it to be.

Both doctors said virtually the same thing except that Dr Yetunde referred listeners to a website www.ebolaalert.org for more information about the virus. I summarized what I learnt below. I left out the history of Ebola virus so you don't have to deal with tonnes of information. You can visit http://www.who.int/en/ for that.

What you need to know

Always wash your hands: Dr Yetunde said Ebola virus is sensitive to soap and water. She said the virus cannot withstand them. I would call soap and water their kryptonite. So always wash your hands frequently. Please use sanitizers too for extra protection.

Keep your surroundings clean and use disinfectants: Dr Kehinde advised that we maintain environmental hygiene. Make sure your surroundings are always kept clean and when cleaning, it is best to use disinfectants. They contain chlorine and Dr Yetunde mentioned that Ebola virus cannot withstand chlorine.

Cook foods properly: Dr Yetunde also said that Ebola virus cannot live above 60 degrees. She said that she had heard rumours that people should stay away from bush meat and in response to that, she said properly cooked meat is safe. Even though I have never been a fan of bush meat, I would not taste it even if it was cooked for so long that it got burnt. In other words, please just stay away from bush meat and suya for now. Unless you can take it back home and reheat it to 100 degrees Celsius.

You can still shake hands: Dr Kehinde said Nigeria has not got to the point where we should stop shaking hands because we don't have an outbreak. He only advised that we always wash our hands. Dr Yetunde informed that infected people are not contagious until they display the symptoms which are fever, joint and muscle pains, weakness, loss of apetite, diarrhoea, headaches, stomach pain, and vomiting. She said that when Mr S was on the plane and seemed healthy, although he was infected, he wasn't contagious. So those who might have shook him on the plane would not get infected. But when the disease was full blown i.e. when he started showing symptoms, anyone who had contact with him could get infected. But I would advise you simply avoid unnecessary contact.

Report suspected persons: The two doctors advised that if you know anyone who you suspect has the virus, for example, they passed through or just arrived from infected countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and are showing symptoms, such persons should be reported so they can be checked. Also contact with them should be avoided unless you are fully protected, latex gloves, goggles and the like. They also added that you should be honest enough to report yourself if you suspect you have the symptoms.

Do not touch a corpse whose cause of death you don't know: Assume the deceased died of Ebola, he is still very contagious and contact should be avoided. He should be buried in a protective bag and those perfoming the burial rite should be well protected.

There is no cure for Ebola: About kola-nuts having a compound that can cure Ebola disease, Dr Kehinde said it has not been scientifically proven and didn't advise anyone to use it. However he said that if it is, we would be advised accordingly. Prevention is better than cure does not apply here because there is no cure yet. Take precautionary measures as aforementioned and pray it does not spread in Nigeria, we already have enough issues to deal with.

Be aware and spread the word:  When asked by callers about the best way to address the Ebola situation, both doctors said awareness, education and precautionary measures. Also some callers complained that the government isn't creating enough awareness about this dreaded virus. Instead of waiting for someone else to spread the word or blaming the government, I am using what I have to aid Ebola awareness. So even if you are too busy to write an article, you can share this post via your social media handles. 

Don't fold your arms and watch, help spread the word.

 

May God deliver us from Ebola.

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