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Are we keeping out Ebola?

Aug 06, 2014 Editorial

One of the deadliest diseases, the Ebola virus, is raving parts of Africa. Recently, by way of a doctor and a volunteer, it has reached the United States, where the Centers for Disease Control say that it may be winning the war in the case of the infected doctor.
This disease has already claimed almost 1000 lives and at the rate it is attacking the people in West Africa, many more will die. The countries simply do not have the resources to fight the disease.
In Guyana, where the outbreak of any deadly disease could be devastating, we are not talking about preventing the arrival of the disease in the country. According to information on the disease, Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is the human disease caused by the Ebola virus. Symptoms typically start two days to three weeks after infection with the EVD virus: fever, sore throat, myalgia (muscle pain), and headaches. Typically, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea occur, followed by decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. At that point in the course of the Ebola virus disease, some infected people begin to suffer bleeding.
This disease had made the rounds not so long ago. Again, many died, but in the end the disease waned, but it left the world very scared and scientists with many samples with which to work. While they have not yet discovered a vaccine to combat the disease, they have made some headway in treating infected people.
There is no specific treatment for the disease; efforts to help persons who are infected include giving either oral rehydration therapy (slightly sweet and salty water to drink) or intravenous fluids. The disease has a high mortality rate: often killing between 50% and 90% of those infected with the virus.
In Guyana when another deadly disease SARS raised its head, Guyana did not take any precautions until there were reports in countries in the region. Only then did the authorities think about preparing a ward in the Georgetown Public Hospital to contain people suspected to have been infected.
They did quarantine a few Chinese who arrived with fevers. Nurses who were expected to visit the infected people were given protective gear that consisted of masks and gloves. For the Ebola virus, protection means so much more, as the Americans with their vast resources have shown. Yet there is no word about Guyana reaching out for help.
It is home to anyone who arrives, simply because of extremely open immigration policies. More recently, we have had a spate of Nigerians coming here in many guises, some as pastors and faith healers. That is because Guyanese are susceptible to any scheme that promises good health and tons of money.
Nigeria is a West African country, and while there have only been two confirmed cases of Ebola, given its borders with countries in which the disease is raging, one can expect more cases to be discovered there. One does not wish to be paranoid about West Africans, but one must be conscious about the medical limitations and the ability to fight any major outbreak of diseases.
We have seen how the common flu has been able to spread. Even conjunctivitis has made an impact on the country, affecting some 20 per cent of the population when it peaked. But Ebola is not conjunctivitis (red eye). It is far more deadly.
Surprisingly, our medical administration has not even issued a health warning. We are still to see an education programme for our immigration officers and we are still to hear about approaches to the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation.
It was the same when HIV/AIDS came to Guyana. In fact, it was a very long time before we were prepared to acknowledge the presence of the disease. And when we did, we copied the mantra of the developed world, that it was a disease that affected homosexuals.  Today we know differently. We are still fighting it and using education.
We should not wait for the first case of Ebola before we take some action.

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