Ahead of the coming African/American Leaders
Summit billed for Monday in Washington DC,
United States, President Barack Obama, has said
some African participants attending will be
screened for exposure to the dreaded Ebola virus.
President Goodluck Jonathan along with his aides
is among the African leaders expected to attend
the event.
According to a Reuters report, Obama explained
on Friday that the action would be taken to
protect the US from the outbreak of the disease.
He said, “Folks who are from these countries that
have even a marginal risk, or an infinitesimal risk
of having been exposed in some fashion, we’re
making sure we’re doing screening.”
The United States, Obama said, takes risks from
the deadly Ebola virus very seriously hence the
planned test for the expected African leaders.
Also, two African leaders have said that they
would not attend the meeting because of the
outbreak of the Ebola disease in their countries.
The leaders are the presidents of Liberia and
Sierra Leone, Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Ernest
BaiKoroma, respectively.
Meanwhile, professional health bodies and
medical experts have condemned Nigeria’s
response to the global outbreak of Ebola Virus
Disease. They strongly condemned what they
described as poor preventive measures put in
place by the Federal Government.
Nigeria has recorded the death of an Ebola victim,
Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian, who flew into the
country on July 20.
The deceased collapsed on his arrival in Lagos
and was rushed to hospital where he was
diagnosed with EVD. He later died on July 25.
Ebola, which has killed scores in Guinea, Gambia
and Sierra Leone and Liberia, is an acute viral
illness and often characterised by fever, intense
weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore
throat.
These are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash,
impaired kidney and liver function, and in some
cases, both internal and external bleeding.
A virologist and President, Nigerian Academy of
Science, Prof. Oyewole Tomori, in an interview
with SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday, decried that
the porous nature of Nigerian hospitals would
allow the disease to spread easily between
patients and health workers.
He said, “In an ideal situation, there is no need to
close the border. As a matter of fact, there are too
many entry points into the country. How many of
these can be closed? But beyond closing the
borders is the actual state of preparedness. The
truth of the matter is we’re not prepared.
“Also, the government needs to collaborate with
private medical laboratory facilities. Testing for
the Ebola Virus Disease isn’t something that can
be done in a moment. It takes time. The Federal
Ministry of Health should now be asking
laboratory facilities what they have and what they
need, as part of preparedness, in case there’s an
overwhelming need for blood samples to be
tested for the virus.
“The bottom line of my response is that the
country is not prepared for an outbreak of the
Ebola virus.”
Tomori decried that the case of Sawyer caught
Nigeria unawares, as the country was not
prepared enough for the disease.
He said, “We are not prepared to handle any
outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease. There’s no
sign of any state of preparedness. What
happened in the case of the dead Liberian man
with Ebola virus visiting Nigeria was
circumstantial. It was not that we prepared for it
as a nation.
“If the man had not been sick at the point he
arrived in Nigeria, he could have travelled to
Calabar for his conference. At that point it would
likely be difficult to know there was a case of
Ebola in the country. He could have died in
Calabar without any trace.
“Interestingly too, what happened at the airport
seemed to be a blessing in disguise. Just imagine
what could have happened, had the Nigerian
Medical Association not been on strike. The
situation could have been worse by now. If
medical doctors were not on strike, with the
Liberian arriving sick at the Nigerian airport, he
would likely have been taken to one of the
government hospitals.
“In government hospitals, there are many people
around; you have many outpatients and visitors
who could have come in close contact with the
man (Sawyer); that could have been a disaster.”
He urged the NMA to sheathe its sword on its
ongoing strike, “in view of the looming Ebola
outbreak.”
He said, “Nigerian medical doctors, for the sake of
stemming the likely outbreak of Ebola, should
suspend their strike and support government’s
efforts.”
According to him, “It is for the sake of everybody.”
Also speaking, the Director, African Centre of
Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases,
Redeemer’s University, Christian Happi, described
the outbreak of Ebola as “an epidemic
characterising dysfunctional health systems.”
He said, “If the disease surveillance systems in
West African countries were active, we would
have prevented the spread of the virus once the
epidemic started in Guinea in December 2013.
Now, this epidemic can no longer be considered
as a West African problem.”
The Professor of Molecular Biology and Genomics
stated that while the Federal Government and the
Lagos State Government were making efforts to
contain the situation, “I don’t know how really
prepared we are in case of a major outbreak.”
Happi said Nigeria was “very fortunate” that it had
diagnostic capability. He, however, noted that
there was the need for laboratories to have
enough reagents and supplies in case of a major
outbreak.
“I believe the government has a small window of
opportunities now to really stock these reference
laboratories with equipment, supplies and
reagents in order to face the epidemic. The
government should quickly refurbish some
medical facilities and dedicate them to the
management of viral haemorrhagic fevers as a
major step towards preparing for a major
outbreak if it occurs,” Happi added.
Similarly, the Vice-President, Commonwealth
Medical Association and immediate past
President, Nigerian Medical Association, Dr.
Osahon Enabulele, said “things are just getting to
be pushed up the scale, in terms of our
preparedness for the Ebola outbreak.”
He said it was expected that there would have
been massive public enlightenment before, rather
than after the case of Sawyer, which he described
as one “detected fortunately.”
Enabulele said, “One would have expected that as
the pandemic was spreading within some of those
affected West African countries, there would have
been an increased push to get the people to be
aware of it.
“But, nevertheless, I think it is still commendable
to note that there has been a renewed drive to
upscale the public enlightenment aspect of the
preparedness for the Ebola outbreak. We also
need to beef up the surveillance mechanisms of
the government.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Veterinary Medical
Association, Lagos State chapter, Dr. Mobolaji
Alao, has advised pet owners to screen their
animals to ensure they are free of the Ebola virus.
Speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH, he advised that
poultry farmers should ensure that they rear their
livestock in a bat and rodent free environment.
He said, “The Ebola virus can be transmitted to
dogs. It is important that your pets are protected
by keeping them in screened environments
especially in bat infested areas.
“Pig farmers, especially, should not only provide
screened husbandry facility for their livestock but
they should also ensure a bat free environment,
particularly the fruit bats. It has been shown
through published studies that domestic and wild
pigs can infect monkeys in close proximity.
“This has lent credence to the suggestion that
there might be airborne components to the
spread of the disease.”
Already, there are fears that the porous nature of
Nigerian land borders may thwart the Federal
Government’s efforts to check the spread of the
deadly Ebola virus in the country.
There are about 1,479 illegal routes into Nigeria,
through which smugglers, illegal immigrants and
terrorists have been infiltrating the country. This
is said to be exposing the country to dangers.
Despite having immigration and health officers
who man 114 regular border posts, the level of
territorial management has been described as
inadequate to protect the country from Ebola
virus.
The illegal immigrants from Chad, Mali, Niger,
Cameroun, Togo, Benin Republic and other
countries, who find Nigeria as an attractive
destination for being the commercial nerve centre
of the West African sub-region, may quicken the
spread of the deadly disease.
The Federal Government had last Sunday ordered
the setting up of disease isolation centres at
international airports in Nigeria.
The Coordinating General Manager, Aviation
Parastatals, Mr. Yakubu Dati, had said the Federal
Government had commenced screening of
international passengers suspected to have the
virus.
The National Primary HealthCare Development
Agency had also hinted that it had put its workers
on the alert to check the disease.

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