Let’s intensify education on Ebola
Reports of a case of suspected Ebola virus recorded at the Nyaho Clinic in Accra give cause for concern due to the serious health threats the disease poses to everyone residing in Ghana.
Ebola virus disease is a severe, often fatal, illness in humans. It is reported to have a case fatality rate of up to 90 per cent.
The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human contact.
Signs and symptoms include a sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. These are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes, impaired kidney and liver function and, in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.
The incubation period; that is, the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms, is two to 21 days.
Bush animals such as antelopes, fruit bats, dead porcupines and infected chimpanzees are said to harbour and spread the virus rapidly among them. Fruit bats, especially, are said to naturally contain the virus.
Any direct contact with such animals through broken skins or mucus membranes will result in a person acquiring the virus.
Men who have recovered from the disease can still transmit the virus through their semen for up to seven weeks after recovery from illness.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that as of July 6, 2014, the cumulative number of cases attributed to Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia stood at 844, including 518 deaths.
In the absence of effective treatment and a human vaccine, the WHO has warned that drastic measures are needed to avert the spread of the virus,
Awareness of the risk factors for Ebola infection and the protective measures individuals can take are the only ways to reduce human infection and deaths.
This calls for public health educational messages which should focus on all the risk factors
Experts have advised the public to avoid eating and getting close to animals found dead in rain forests, as they may carry the Ebola virus. According to them, the only way to kill the Ebola virus is to thoroughly boil all edible meat from the bush for 30 minutes or more.
There is also the need to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission arising from direct or close contact with infected patients, particularly with their bodily fluids.
Hence, gloves and appropriate personal protective equipment should be worn when taking care of patients at home. Regular hand washing is also required after visiting patients in hospital, as well as after taking care of them at home.
Burial ceremonies during which mourners have direct contact with the body can also play a role in the transmission of Ebola, so people who have died from Ebola should be promptly and safely buried.
On the health front, it is advised that suspected patients be quarantined.
Healthcare workers must also apply standard precautions consistently with all patients – regardless of their diagnosis – at all workplaces at all times. These include basic hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment, safe injection practices and safe burial practices.
