A dire situation has confronted us. The fear it has instilled in us is one that can be felt in the air. How we are to grapple with this scourge is what experts and the layman on the streets are battling to fathom. Even those well grounded in the field of medical care are at a loss to finding the solution to this deadly virus.
Today, wherever one turns is saturated with the word Ebola. It has become a kind of refrain if not an outright anthem on the lips of all-not just in Nigeria but the world over. This disease has put Nigeria in dire straits. Fear, anxiety and rejection reigns supreme in all corners of Nigeria as you read this.
Rumour mongers and comic characters have cashed-in on the situation to cause more panic and apprehension all over the place. This, of course leads one to wonder if these folks really grasp the severity of Ebola virus. Their reckless propensity to make light a situation of National emergency as the Federal Government has tagged the Ebola virus leaves one to wonder if a virus that has sent thousands to their early graves in a flash deserves to be treated with such levity as they have made people to believe.
Just recently, news went virile that adding salt to bathing water is a sure way of preventing or kicking the dreaded disease out of Nigeria. They did not stop tat that but went further to impress upon hopeless citizens to equally add the salt to their drinking water. Information they ‘say does not have legs but travels faster than a private jet’. Some folks were woken from their sleep as early as 4.am some days back by calls from friends, family members and concerned acquaintances to the imperative of using salt to bath and drink as a panacea to the Ebola fever. Not a few people however fell prey to this baseless antidote.
But Many quickly swung into action and in a bid to ‘save lives’, also made frantic calls to those they could reach to avail them of the curative or preventive measure against Ebola. Call it gullibility or clutching at a straw and you won’t be farther from the truth. After all, this is Nigeria-a place where serious matters are treated with a pinch of salt. Isn’t it high time we changed? But wait a minute; isn’t it this same salt we have been told to avoid adding to an already-prepared meal? Or is it that the salt for Ebola is different? Perhaps there are few or germane matters regarding the cure for Ebola not known to yours truly.
Whoever began the spread of this falsehood must be kicking himself now because of the devastating effects it has caused innocent citizens. Two persons have been reported dead in Jos, Plateau State as a result of the use of salted water therapy to neutralise the effect of Ebola virus. Twenty more persons have been hospitalised owing to the use of salted water to bath or drink just because of a baseless, unfounded and unsubstantiated therapy orchestrated by fellow humans.
While those behind the spread of this hogwash deserve outright condemnation and what have you, my grouse lies with those who salted their water. The rush to use the salt meant for the preparation of assorted sumptuous meal was frenetic and unparalleled. We made no effort to learn from the right sources neither did we make any effort to confirm the salt theorem before rushing to use it. The lesson learnt here is that we should always strive to investigate issues before absorbing them wholesale.
I was about having my bath when a neighbour called my attention to the need to have my water salted. I was momentarily displaced by the suggestion as that to me, was a huge joke. But when he saw that I wouldn’t budge, he told me how a relative called him in the early hours of the day, informing him of the neutralizing power of the salt with regards to the Ebola virus. Much as he tried to convince me, I remained adamant because as at the time of the argument, no Ebola case had been reported in the state and even where it had been reported, the government and other relevant agencies were doing all they could to keep citizens abreast on how to curtail the virus and in no occasion was salt mentioned. So, how come this salt theory, I queried.
Long story short, I had my bath without any iota of salt to my water. Bravery? We are entitled to our opinion. Ebola is a killer disease. Infact, if we conduct an opinion poll or cast lots, the preference for HIV will supersede that of Ebola! That is how dreadful and beastly Ebola is! It kills faster than any known sickness in the world. Within twenty one days one is inflicted with Ebola virus, death comes calling as there is no cure yet for it hence, making mincemeat of a disease as serious as this is not only criminal but unfortunate. Mischief makers and comic characters should as a matter of urgent necessity desist from peddling wrong and misleading information on Ebola virus. This is pertinent because we may wake up one day to another tale that Ebola is easily spread through recharge cards hence, we should harm ourselves with gloves and other protective gears to ward off Ebola!
It is as serious as that because there is no length pranksters won’t go to disseminate their malicious information. Members of the public must therefore intensify efforts to get information from the proper source and not be easily deceived into doing laughable things with intention to cure or avert the spread of Ebola. It is imperative for us to be well informed and be on guard before we are taken unawares by this deadly disease.
Thankfully, the government and the Ministry of Health have devised ingenious means to enlighten the public on the dangers of Ebola. Telecom operators have also employed good means of keeping us updated on this distressing disease. It is advisable that we keep our ears on the ground by availing ourselves information about Ebola and not believe on hearsay as spread by ill-informed folks and mischief makers. The Radio, Television, Newspapers, social media and other platforms should be embraced more in this trying time. This is no time to turn a blind eye to them if that has been the practice before now. I trust we have not forgotten the saying that if one is not informed, deformity is inevitable.
For further clarity, Ebola was first discovered in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). The virus is named after the Ebola River where one of the first recorded outbreaks occurred. Bats are widely believed to be responsible for the Ebola virus. Studies have also proved that the virus was originally transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-human transmission. Fruit bats of the ‘Pterpodidae’ family are considered to be the natural host.
Between 2000-2001, the largest outbreak occurred in Uganda, with 425 cases, killing about a half. Ebola is deadly and kills in a twinkle of an eye. It is very contagious and can be contacted through body fluids, contact with infected blood and through animals infected with the virus. The early symptoms according to experts include headache, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache and joint pains; often followed by bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, swelling of the genitals, bleeding from the mouth, rectum and wild rashes all over the body that always contains blood.
From the foregoing, we can fully appreciate the severity of this virus. Infact, its manner of transmission can scare the daylight out of anybody. In times like this our collective wish and prayer should be that Ebola and whatever follows it should not find its way into Nigeria vis a vis Akwa Ibom State. Few cases may have been recorded already in the country yet; we can manage it and halt its spread.
The preventive measures must be followed to the latter and proper sanitary condition maintained in our surroundings and work places. The preventive measures are germane in light of the unfeeling and harsh nature of the danger at hand.
Government, the private sector and other relevant agencies should therefore embark on rigorous enlightenment/campaign to further inform the public of the dangers posed by the Ebola disease virus and the precautionary measures to be taken to counteract its spread. No where is immune to the ravages of Ebola and it concomitant deadly instinct. It has already and still taking its toll on West African countries like Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, among others.
So far, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a total of 888 Ebola cases including 539 deaths since February this year. Recently, the organisation expressed how dire the situation has become by labelling it a ‘precarious’ one which had surged at an unprecedented rate. Bad omen!
The fight aginst Ebola is for all not a selected group of persons or institutions. We must all join hands to wage war against Ebola. Efforts should also be intensified to enlighten rural dwellers on the dangers of this disease. One cannot run away from the fact that they feast mostly on the so-called ‘bush-meat’. They should be impressed upon to bid farewell to the consumption of this meat-at least for now to avoid the unprecedented calamity posed by Ebola. All the precautionary measures proffered by medical experts must be strictly adhered to without any infraction whatsoever.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ememabasi Bassey had assured that Ebola is not in the state yet thus, people should go about their legitimate activities without fear until any case is reported. May we not have any of such case in the state.
Ebola is a death sentence that kills in a matter of hours hence, let’s be properly informed and be on alert while taking and observing in detail all the preventive measures on ground. It is operation kick Ebola out of Nigeria! God help us
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