On October 20, 2014, the World Health
Organisation declared Nigeria an Ebola-free country. For weeks from the
time the Liberian Patrick Sawyer brought the killer virus into the
country, an entire nation lived in fear contracting the disease.
In
its brief passage through Nigeria, the Ebola Virus Disease left seven
persons dead in its trail, and led to the quarantining of scores of
others in isolation centres in Lagos and Rivers states, and in Abuja in
the Federal Capital Territory.
Continue reading after the cut....
America’s
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, foresees 1.5 million
persons infected worldwide by January next year. For the moment, there
is no effective drug or vaccine against the virus. Experimental drugs
offer no guarantee – some survive, some die. Given a mortality rate of
70 per cent from the virus, the world is threatened by an epidemic that
is apocalyptic in dimension.
The worst
hit are Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The epidemic that ravaged
these countries has left about thousands dead. In fact, the disease was
initially seen as an African problem.
While
the October 20 clearance is a cheery news for Nigeria, the world as a
whole is not yet free of the virus. Recently in Geneva, Bruce Aylward,
the official in charge of the WHO’s response to the Ebola threat,
expressed “cautious optimism”, that the growth of new cases was slowing
down, especially in Liberia. He sees the recent upshot in the total
number of reported cases from 10, 141 to 13, 703 – not as arising from
new cases, but mainly the result of the data being updated with old
cases.
Nigeria’s efforts at containing
the spread of Ebola more than matched the efficiency with which the
virus kills its victims. The acknowledged hero of this valiant struggle
is the late Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh – as well as the nurses and other doctors
at First Consultants Hospital, Obalende, Lagos – who stopped Sawyer and
alerted the nation of the danger at hand. Kudos to the Federal
Government, and to the governments of Lagos and Rivers states,
especially to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos and former health
minister, Pro. Onyebuchi Chukwu.
However,
as we rejoice, we should temper self-congratulations with humility. Our
victory is partly explained by luck. Had the doctors at LUTH, not been
on strike when Sawyer arrived in Nigeria ill and thus had to be taken to
First Consultants, our collective fate could have taken a different
turn.
Furthermore, health workers in
Nigeria did not have to contend with the hostility of some activities
and some communities, as happened in Liberia and Guinea. In the brief
period that the danger lasted, Nigerians suspended their characteristic
suspicious and distrust of government.
But
can the Ebola virus return to Nigeria, brought into the country by
another Patrick Sawyer? Yes, because our luck can only go so far. The
major route is the country’s vast land border with its West African
neighbours, a free route for persons bearing the virus and entering
Nigeria. Corruption at Nigeria’s few manned border points is a large
factor for a possible re-entry of the virus into the country. Of
particular concern are border officials who are easily comprised by
financial inducements.
In addition to
corruption, religion is another challenge to preventing the virus
getting into the country. Already in some quarters, the disease is being
attributed to God’s punishment of iniquity in the land. This attitude
does not support the efforts at checking the disease.
However,
the authorities should do what is still in their power to prevent
Ebola, corruption and religious attitudes notwithstanding. Existing
programmes and measures against the virus should be sustained.
Specifically, the public should continue to be encouraged to practise
good hygiene, especially the frequent washing of hands.
- Blessing Erem (Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos)
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