Today, the 20th of October 2014, Nigeria is free of the deadly Ebola virus. This was just declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) after six weeks of no-further case of the infection. According to WHO, "This is a spectacular success story that shows that Ebola can be contained. The story of how Nigeria ended what many believed to be potentially the most explosive Ebola outbreak imaginable is worth telling in detail"
You will recall that on the 20th of July, a Liberian diplomat had smuggled the Virus into the country by violating his quarantine rule and travelled to Lagos. The Ebola carrying diplomat, Patrick Sawyer later died of the disease 5 days later, after infecting his Protocol Officer who had travelled with him and some health workers, one of whom was the great granddaughter to Nigerian foremost Nationalists, Sir Herbert Macaulay. Dr. Adadevoh was lost to Ebola, no thanks to Patrick Sawyer. Another doctor who secretly treated the Ebola-infected colleague of Sawyer's also died of Ebola on the 23rd of August in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 10 days after infection. Over 200 people were quarantined as a result of these cases in Lagos and Port Harcourt cities.
Lagos State in particular was very proactive in containing the spread of the virus with support by the Federal Ministry of Health, therefore,avoiding a deadly outbreak
The World Health body had reported that "The outbreak (of Ebola) has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa, mostly in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. An estimated 70% of those infected have died in those countries."
Senegal also had a mild case and was quickly contained. By Friday of last Week, Senegal was declared Ebola-Free.
Meanwhile, there have been reported cases of Ebola in the US and some parts of Europe, though the Nurse alleged to be infected has been found to be free of the virus. The BBC has reported that the "European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg to discuss how to strengthen their response to the threat posed by Ebola."
Meanwhile, there have been reported cases of Ebola in the US and some parts of Europe, though the Nurse alleged to be infected has been found to be free of the virus. The BBC has reported that the "European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg to discuss how to strengthen their response to the threat posed by Ebola."
The efforts of Lagos State Government have been highly commendable, and as it is today, there is said to be an arrangement by the State Government to "deploy some health workers who helped in the containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the state to Sierra Leone".
Goodluck to the health workers and congratulations to Nigerians for fighting hard to push Ebola out of Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment