Ebola, the virus explained
Correspondent | Friday July 25, 2014 13:09
Mmegi: Should people be scared of news concerning Ebola?
Jami: I don’t think we need to be scared of Ebola. It is usually found in very remote areas of equatorial jungles, and even then in rural areas.
At the moment we have an epidemic around the borders between Guinea, Sierra Leon and Liberia in the remote areas. We do not need to panic. Secondly, Ebola does not transmit from person-to-person easily as in the case of influenza or by food.
Mmegi: Why do we still have posters around clinics warning the general public about the disease?
Jami: You see we have just hosted international games in Botswana. So during those games we had to inform the public because we had participants coming from all across Africa, including Ebola affected countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leon and Guinea Bissau. So we had to inform the public to make the maximum precautions to avoid contracting the disease. To manage and to identify suspected cases if any, so that is the reason why we had the posters. Otherwise, if the games were not hosted here we would never have needed to put up such posters to alert and inform the public.
Mmegi: Have there been any cases
of Ebola in the country?
Jami: Never, not a single one. Ebola is a disease that transmits from person-to-person through contact. Usually it occurs when people are in jungles and they eat wild animals that are infected by Ebola.
This was supposed to be an animal disease, what we call a zoonotic disease, never a human disease. But when a human being is infected it usually transmits from person-to-person where you have close contact with patients.
Usually it happens when you have patients being cared for by family members or when they are conducting funerals where in some cultures they kiss the deceased. Also families are not willing to give their members to government facilities because they are denied the chance to look after them.
That is why we now have a big challenge in West Africa whereby families are not letting the patients go or giving them up to facilities. Rather they keep them at home, which creates an opportunity for the disease to transmit from person-to-person.
Mmegi: Can I contract the disease while in a combi seated next to a person with the infection?
Jami: You see, first of all Ebola is an acute disease. The moment you are infected within two days you cannot be riding around in a combi. You will be sick, you will be bleeding from the nose, from the mouth, all orifice and the skin, and you look sick, and if you look that sick nobody would want to sit next to you.
Fortunately in Botswana we do not transport patients by combi. We have ambulances, so the probability of transmitting Ebola in Botswana is very low because of the health services.
Even if we could have such cases they would be very limited. Like I said this disease is found in deep rural areas and transmission is usually quite intentional.
By this I mean when you try to hide patients in your house; you will be told that this person is suspected to have the infection but you kiss the body. You want to conduct the funeral yourself instead of letting government do it.
You should not handle the funeral by yourself, the burial should not be done by the community. It should be done by highly protected and trained health workers.
Mmegi: What is the difference between epidemic and pandemic?
Jami: A pandemic is when it involves more than two continents, while endemic is when the disease is localised within the country.
Ebola is not curable. Ninety percent of people die, only a few recover naturally with no treatment. You see whenever a challenge happens anywhere in the world we inform the public to understand the challenges and hazards and we do that through the media and press releases.
When the level of risk increases in Botswana then we push for more education, and more warning. As for Ebola we do not need to panic. If it happens it will be among travellers who will be visiting affected countries. When these people come through the airport, we inspect them. Any person who travels to the affected country or any traveller who comes from affected countries we have port houses at the airport and border gates.
If you are looking sick then we have a retention area where we keep you and call a professional to come look at you. If they suspect you have the infection they will isolate you, if they say you are fine then you are fine.
I have to add that Ebola has never left its affected areas. We used to have lots of cases in Uganda, but such cases are limited to Uganda, never reported in other countries.
We used to have it in Congo, but it got limited to Congo. Now we have the disease in the border areas of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leon.
These are reports only from those countries and never reported in any other country. So that is one of the reasons we are confident that we do not need to invest a lot of resources and create unnecessary panic among the community. The government is ready in case there is any suspected case. We have isolation areas, we have port houses, and we have personal protective equipment.
If somebody says they have Ebola, I will take the equipment straight to the airport. We have protective clothing in Block 8, so the government is ready and the probability of it happening in Botswana is very rare.
On a final note please always follow government advice. Listen to any broadcasts and warnings. We are part and parcel of the community. If the community is affected so are we (as individuals). Whatever we are doing is not only for the community but for us as well.
* Dr Nesredin Jami is a medical doctor in the public health sector. She is a specialist coordinating public health emergency preparedness and responses. She has held the position for the last six years.