- Warns there’s no treatment yet for disease
A consultant in Community Medicine at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Dr. Emem Peters, has urged Nigerians to exercise caution over the new strain of Ebola virus called Bundibugyo.
Peters, who spoke on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, said there are no treatments to manage the virus, unlike the 2014 strain.
“This particular Ebola virus disease outbreak is caused by a different strain called the Bundibugyo strain, different from the one we had in 2014 that was the Zaire strain, and it’s of concern to us.
“We do not have a vaccine yet to control this, and there are no known treatments for its management. It’s all early detection and supportive care, so it’s a new strain, it’s not the one we had defeated”, she stated.
Her statement comes in the wake of the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 513 suspected cases and 131 deaths reported.
According to her, the Ebola virus is a viral haemorrhagic disease that affects the blood vessels, it can cause bleeding, affects several organs, and could result in shock and death.
Although, there are no confirmed cases of the virus in Nigeria, preventive and precautionary measures are advised to be taken.
Peters also cited symptoms to look out for.
“The symptoms one should look out for would include fever, pain, generalized body weakness, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, and in some extreme cases, you could have bleeding not all cases would come with bleeding.”
Incubation period
Speaking further, she said that Ebola generally has an incubation period of two to 21 days, when symptoms are expected to be visible.
“For the incubation period, the time between exposure and manifestation of the disease is basically two to 21 days so from the time of exposure two days after you could expect to start seeing symptoms up till 21 days,” she added.
The doctor also noted that preparations are being made in every entry mode of the country.
“As part of preparedness at the point of entry international airport, the sea port, land border, land communities, what we are doing, the Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC), alongside the port health services of the Federal Ministry of Health, are now activating thermal screening, thermometer checks, and travelers are assessed for symptoms,” she stated.
The doctor, however, noted that the government is already taking measures to prevent an outbreak in Nigeria.
“Preparations are ongoing. We are being prepared because, as soon as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it, and that same day, NCDC sent out circulars to all the institutions in laboratories, ensuring that we have the reagent.
“We have our reference laboratory active and ready to receive samples, and then all the hospitals, both primary, tertiary, and secondary health facilities, all have their viral haemorrhagic plan and these plans are expected to carry out drills, stimulate in case we have such a case, what do we do.
She also noted that staff are being trained currently in most institutions that circular is out and the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) is kept on alert.
Hygiene
Peters advised Nigerians to reduce contact with wild animals, maintain good hygiene, and embrace hand washing.
“For my fellow Nigerians, what I would say is that first of all, we must prevent having contact, and Ebola has been linked with some animals, animals like bushmeats, hunting, handling animals, infected animals, so I would advise Nigerians to reduce their contact with animals for now.
“Bush meat handling because that is where it comes from and from there it spreads to people, so let’s reduce our contact with wild animals and maintain personal hygiene, wash your hands, and if somebody is sick, don’t just touch a sick person like that,” she added.
