We were all praying the deadly Ebola
virus would not make it’s way to Nigeria, but sadly it looks like the first
recorded case in the country has been detected. According to UK’s Sky News a
Liberian man in his 40s has tested for the deadly Ebola virus, in Lagos.
Officials of the government in a briefing noted that the 40 year oldLiberian is in a private hospital in the Obalende area of the State.
The officials also noted that the hospital housing the Liberian has been cordoned off and the victim isolated.
Ebola has killed 632 people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone
since an outbreak began in February, straining a string of weak health
systems despite international help.
This would be the first recorded case of one of the world’s deadliest
diseases in Nigeria, with 170 million people and some of Africa’s least
adequate health infrastructure.
Ebola is a human disease caused by ebola viruses. Symptoms start two
days to three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, throat and
muscle pains, and headaches. There is then nausea, vomiting and
diarrhea along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. The
disease can be contacted when a person comes into contact with the blood
or bodily fluids of an infected animal such as a monkey or fruit bat.
There is no specific treatment for the virus with efforts to help
people including giving the person either oral rehydration therapy or
intravenous fluids.
Measures that will help in stopping the outbreak to
include; washing of hands often with soap and water, avoiding close
contact with people who are sick and ensuring that objects used by the
sick are decontaminated and properly disposed.
