– Tobi Olusakin, ABH Press
Most Nigerians became familiar with the term “Ebola” for the first time in 2014. However, it became a thing of the past, thanks to a relatively swift response by the government and various health professionals (worthy of note is the late Dr. Adadevoh Ameyo). Sadly, countries like DR Congo have not been able to boast of such a feat as the deadly virus continues to claim the lives of most of the exposed individuals.
The recent news pertaining to the virus is that which comes from DR Congo and her East African neighbour, Uganda. Several reports claim that there have been up to 2,100 cases of Ebola in the recent DR Congo outbreak, and that 1,400 people have died. Apparently, it has spread to Uganda, this was confirmed by the WHO on 12 June when a boy who tested positive for the virus died and his grandmother followed suite shortly afterwards (He was said to have attended his grandfather’s funeral in DR Congo. Grandfather was killed by the same menace).
This current outbreak is the second biggest in history (following the West African outbreak in 2013 -2016 which killed 11,310 people) and it shows no signs of slowing partly due to the ignorance and mistrust the locals seem to have; and the porous borders between states and countries.
Members of charity organizations still meet people who are oblivious of the disease every day. There have also been more than 40 attacks on health facilities between January and May. All these and much more have thwarted the efforts to curb this menace.
The chances of the outbreak spreading to West Africa are quite small, countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone have started to put things in place to prevent a relapse. Nigeria also hasn’t been left behind, the Centre for Disease Control noted recently that it has put in some measures to ensure adequate preparedness and has tightened security especially at airports.
Source: BBC News, Sahara Reporters