Ebola virus isnt going to be the end of us: we can, and we will rise above it... So less than 24 hours after the sad news that Sheikh Umar Khan, the 39 year-old doctor from Sierra Leona who has been leading the fight against Ebola, had himself contracted the virus, we hear that its right here, at home! In Lagos, Obalende area, to be precise. Channels TV reported a few hours ago that a 40 year Liberian man is being treated as a possible case of Ebola infection. The hospital where the man is on admission has been cordoned off (as part of the quarantine done in any case of Ebola is detection). And the Lagos state government has made a press statement about it. Should you be scared? NO. Not because Ebola virus isnt serious, but because fear doesnt work. We dont need fear. We dont need panic. We need to take action. The government has already started by making information available about this deadly virus to us. Its our responsibility now, yours and mine to Get informed. And then get the info out to everyone we care about. Here are possible symptoms of Ebola virus: It typically starts with flu-like symptoms; *General feeling of being unwell (feeling somehow) *Increased body temperature *Sore throat and headache *Weakness *Joint, muscle and chest pain Basically, the person might feel like they have what most of us Nigerians usually think of as malaria symptoms. Others symptoms include; *Throat infection: sore throat, hiccups, feeling like youre out of breath. *The nervous system can be affected: headaches, confusions fatigue, and even seizures and coma. *Skin: rash, bleeding below the skin surface (haematomas—and when they are large, ecchymoses). (This bleeding is not a good sign, by the way.) It is easily spread by physical contact and eating contaminated bush meat. Major hosts are Bats but monkeys and apes are easily infected and killed. It kills in a week, leaving no time to treat an individual. It has no known vaccine or cure What to do: 1. Avoid eating any bush meat for now! Especially Apes and Bats. 2. Wash your hands as regularly as possible, especially after shaking a stranger. It is spread by contact. 3.The most straightforward prevention method during Ebola outbreaks is not touching patients, and/or their excretions, and body fluids (blood, sweat, saliva, mucus, tears, semen and vaginal secretion) or possibly contaminated materials and utensils. Patients should be isolated, and medical staff should be trained and apply strict barrier nursing techniques (disposable face mask, gloves, goggles, and a gown at all times). Traditional burial rituals, especially those requiring embalming of bodies, should be discouraged or modified. Awareness is part of the keys to survival!
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 13:06:14 +0000
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