Just in case you missed the newsflash, the doctor that attended to the late Patrick Sawyer, who died of the Ebola Virus Disease in Lagos last month, has been infected with the disease.
Ebola is presently wreaking havoc on the health and well being of patients and doctors in West Africa. Scientists say that the disease, which starts like a fever, has the potential to be the world’s most deadly virus.
Why? It has no known cure or vaccine. In fact, statistics show that because no cure has been found for it, 90 per cent of patients that are infected with the virus die and one can still contract it if one has direct contact with the corpse of an infected person.
Even the World Health Organisation states explicitly that the disease has no cure and the only treatment offered to patients with this viral disease is therapy, which includes giving of fluids to replace lost electrolytes and fluids.
The fact that the disease has no cure poses challenge to scientists and physicians. However, it has also attracted the attention of quacks and traditional healers, who advertise unverified claims and cure for the highly infectious disease on social media and on the streets.
Experts warn that the public should steer clear of such persons or products that some persons flaunt as a possible cure for the disease.
They note that even though scientists home and abroad are working furiously and tirelessly to discover a cure for the Ebola virus, which has killed over 700 persons in the last six months in West Africa, they are yet to come up with a scientifically acceptable cure.
The Director-General, National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control, Dr. Paul Orhii, has warned the public to ignore any purported claim on Ebola treatment for now, as many ‘scientists’ may be looking for those to use as guinea pigs.
Orhii said, “There is no cure for Ebola yet. People are desperate and they are looking for whom to experiment on. If you are having the symptoms of Ebola, which include fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, please report to a government owned facility. Don’t take any drug or herbal treatment or concoction. “Anybody that is caught marketing any drug or cure for Ebola will be prosecuted. We will not allow anybody to take advantage of the vulnerable people or sick. If you are sure you have any drug that cures Ebola, report to NAFDAC, so it can be subjected to scientific analysis and testing. If anybody is working on any cure for Ebola, and you are sure of your results, submit it to the proper channel for testing.”
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, says that this is not the time for religious leaders and their followers to exercise faith when they are seeing the symptoms of the disease.
Idris warns that Ebola is highly infectious and does not respond to any spiritual cure or treatment.
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 precaution 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, please watch out!
Punch
ABUJA: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
PORTHARCOURT: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
LAGOS: Training Schedule for Basic Life Support BLS, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ACLS, First Aid, CPR, AED
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