MY TAKE ON EBOLA VIRUS. 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 it’s right here. At home. In Lagos. Obalende area, to be precise. Channels TV reported a few hours ago that a 40 year-old 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 protocol for any case of Ebola detection). And the Lagos state government has made a press statement about it. Should you be scared? No. Not because Ebola isn’t serious, but because fear doesn’t work. We don’t need fear. We don’t need panic. We need to take action. The government has already started by informing us. It’s our move now, yours and mine. Get informed. And then get the info out to everyone you care about. Here are possible signs of Ebola you need to know about: 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. Like I said, these are the ones it typically starts with. Others include: Throat infection: sore throat, hiccups, feeling like you’re 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.) One more thing to note: the way Ebola spreads is by exposure to body fluids (blood, sweat, saliva, mucus, tears— and yes, semen and vaginal secretion). It is not known to spread by AIR. I’ll repeat that: EBOLA IS NOT KNOWN TO SPREAD BY AIR. So relax—you don’t have to hold your breath. What can you do to protect yourself? I know, this is what you really want to know. Wash your hands. Often. With soap and water. Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick, and be careful with anything they have touched. If possible, don’t touch it, and if you must, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after. (And you don’t wash your hands just any way: you’ll find a link to a video on exactly how to do it at the end of this post.) Urge anyone you know who develops ANY sickness AT ALL (or yourself, if you’re the one) to get to a hospital FAST. For now, don’t take any sickness lightly. Remember this thing starts out looking like your regular common cold or malaria. Share and spread the news to everyone you know. Knowledge is power. Especially when we act on it.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 06:46:54 +0000
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