Stunned
by the entrance of the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, into America, the United
States’ Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has despatched its personnel
to study how Nigeria contained the killer disease.
HEALTH
PERSONNEL IN PROTECTIVE KITS AT THE NATIONAL HOSPITAL IN ABUJA ON TUESDAY
The US
reported on Tuesday that it has discovered a case of EVD in Dallas, Texas, but
its health officials said “the crisis is under control and the public has
nothing to fear.”
A
statement released by US CDC Director Tom Frieden said “it’s clear the nation
needs a quick and thorough response to its first Ebola patient”
He said
although Nigeria was not completely out of the woods, “their extensive response
to a single case of Ebola shows that control is possible with rapid, focused
interventions.” Apart from Nigeria, the US will also visit Senegal to study its
model.
Frieden
said “the best practices in Nigeria and Senegal suggest the U.S. should monitor
all individuals who may have been exposed to Ebola and establish a dedicated
management and response system.”
Senegal
has had no new reported cases of Ebola since Sept. 18 while Nigeria has not
reported new ones since August 31,
US health
officials are expected in Nigeria which it claimed had the best practices in
combating Ebola Virus disease which entered into Nigeria through Liberian born
American citizen Mr. Patrick Sawyer whose index case was reported on July 20,
2014. Nigeria is expected to officially announce today that the remaining two
potential Ebola patients will exit the 21-day observation period.
How
Nigeria stopped the spread of Ebola
According
to US CDC, “Nigeria’s first reported case of Ebola surfaced July 20, when
Patrick Sawyer landed in Lagos from Liberia and exposed 72 other passengers to
the virus. Nigeria’s Health officials quickly issued notifications and tracked
everybody who may have been in contact with Sawyer.
“Nigeria
also established an Ebola Incident Management Centre to handle the potential
outbreak and developed a staffing plan that executed a social mobilization
strategy that reached more than 26,000 households of people living around the
contacts of Ebola patients,”
The
deadly virus has killed more than 3,000 people in Sierra Leone, Guinea and
Liberia in the largest outbreak ever recorded.
How
Senegal contained Ebola
Senegal
confirmed its first Ebola case Aug. 29 after a man, travelling from Guinea on
Aug. 14, took ill and showed symptoms of the disease. This prompted a quick
response, including experienced and trained staffs that were prepared to
contain the Ebola outbreak. The procedure led to the identification of 67
contacts who were placed under quarantine, monitored for 21 days and showed no
symptoms of Ebola.
Panic in
America
The man
who imported Ebola into US was found to have travelled to Liberia without
informing the authorities and did not disclose the nature of his ailment to the
nurse that attended to him. Reports from Texas yesterday said that the Nurse
who attended to the man has also taken ill for Ebola in Texas.
A
spokesman for Texas Health Presbyterian said the patient had walked into a
Dallas emergency room on September 26, without knowing that he contacted the
deadly virus and left after he was treated. He then returned to the facility on
September 28 where it was determined he likely had Ebola and was isolated. He
tested positive Tuesday, health officials said.
Following
the lapse on the part of the hospital officials, questions are being asked amid
panic across the country. The CDC has thus advised that all medical facilities
should ask for patients with symptoms consistent with Ebola for their travel
history.
Credit to:Hugo Odiogor
#ChasingTheNigerianDream
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