Health Ministry already making preparations to deal with Ebola

Aug 24, 2014 News

– emphasizes importance of hygiene

By Sharmain Grainger

There is no denying the fact that the Ebola virus is something to be very concerned about. And according to reports

Chief Medical Officer,
Dr Shamdeo Persaud.

emanating since the recent outbreak in West Africa, persons should be very careful around potential reservoirs of the virus such as pigs and fruit bats.
This, however, does not mean that the virus has arrived, or is anywhere near Guyana, but being too careful in my opinion could never be a bad thing.
But what exactly is this Ebola virus which has been reportedly inflicting and even claiming the lives of hundreds of people in West Africa?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the virus, formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. It is transmitted to people from wild animals through contact with their blood, secretion, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals. It then spreads in the human population through human to human transmission.
Based on reports out of the WHO, the current strain of the virus is believed to have come from fruit bats that passed it on when they were eaten by primates or humans.
It is also the belief of the WHO that pig farms may also play a role in transmitting the virus, as pigs can come in contact with fruit bats and pass on the infection to farmers.
Interesting to note, though, is that the virus manifests in similar ways to common viruses such as dengue fever and even flu. For instance, the WHO outlines that among the signs and symptoms are the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.
As it progresses, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function can develop as can internal and external bleeding. And according to the WHO, once infected, persons could start manifesting symptoms between two and 21 days.
Although endemic to parts of Africa since the first outbreak about three decades ago, there is no sure guarantee that the virus cannot migrate to other parts of the world. Moreover, it has been recommended by the WHO that Ministries of Health around the world take necessary precautions. And primary among the recommendations that have been circulating is the importance of maintaining sanitary conditions and accessing health care.
Reports suggest that there is no known cure for the Ebola virus and therefore about 90 per cent of all persons infected are likely to die.

PLAN OF ACTION
Speaking to this publication recently, Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, who is currently tasked with spearheading measures intended to help safeguard Guyana against the virus, disclosed an elaborate plan of action.

Proper hand-washing is a simple but effective way in helping to safeguard yourself.

He disclosed that as part of the global alert on Ebola, the local Ministry of Health has already started to take some steps under the guidance of the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO).
And according to him, some of the activities that have started in this regard are the implementation of port health standards with the view of ensuring that the country’s ports of entry and the port health services are on par with what is required to deal with the virus.
Guyana currently has two major international ports of entry, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Ogle International Airport, and according to Dr Persaud, “if the virus does come here, it will (mostly likely) arrive through the airports.”
“So far we have done some training with Port Health officers, airline operators, contract workers and even security personnel.” These efforts, according to him, have also seen the Health Ministry developing a protocol for the identification of persons who are travelling and may be at high risk.
Added to this, the Ministry has developed an advisory for such persons “so we are working with some of the travel agents now…if people are travelling to or from these parts (West Africa) they must be provided with the relevant information.”

READY TO COMBAT
And should persons suffering from the virus be detected in Guyana, Dr Persaud is optimistic that it will be at an early stage of the disease. He outlined that unlike the Chikungunya virus which the country is still battling to contain, it is recommended that persons suspected to have the Ebola virus be quarantined.
Since the symptoms of the virus is similar to several other viruses, efforts will first have to be made to rule out that persons are not suffering from those, before Ebola can be confirmed. This might however prove to be quite a task for Guyana, since the local health sector with its limited testing capacity will require the support of an overseas laboratory to aid this effort.
Without speaking to this possible shortcoming, Dr Persaud said that what the Ministry is working towards is putting in place specified locations at the airports, where persons suspected to have the virus can be isolated.
“Of course we will have to put some systems in place for medical management while at the same time ensuring that whatever service is offered is done in a humane manner,” said the CMO.

HEALTH FACILITIES
But the preparatory effort cannot be completed, Dr Persaud noted, without ensuring that the country’s health facilities also have measures in place to deal with infected persons. Moreover, he noted that efforts will certainly be directed to training health personnel on not only how to detect the virus, but also to deliver needful treatment.
“This is a work in progress…to try and educate them all about the signs and the symptoms they have to look for…and we have already started to pass out such information to them,” Dr Persaud informed.
According to him, the major hospitals, like the airports, are currently in the process of identifying an area in which persons can be isolated. This is in spite of the fact that these hospitals are already expected to have isolation units, Dr Persaud observed, even as he pointed out that “they need to strengthen those so that they reduce their chances of contamination.”
However, primary among the efforts that will have to be employed, the CMO noted, is the importance of safeguarding health workers.
He disclosed that the Ministry is keenly working towards educating them on utilising proper protective gear.
“Health workers are pivotal to this control…we have already had a protocol in place for training them on the use of protective equipment and we are in the process of reviewing those now…” the CMO said.

PUBLIC AWARENESS
Despite the evidently focused efforts detailed by Dr Persaud, he is however concerned that there is yet need for more public awareness on personal hygiene and the importance of people keeping the environment clean.
And this is not only important to combat the Ebola virus, as according to Dr Persaud, this could help reduce infiltration of many other diseases as well.
“I think we have a lot of gaps in the way our hygiene is applied and we are really emphasising to people to be very conscious of these diseases, not only Ebola, but others too.”
He informed that since the transmission of Ebola, in particular, has been linked to things such as failure to practice proper hand-washing, safe disposal of bodily fluid, and even the handling of corpses, the local health sector will be hard-pressed to ensure that it is efficient in raising awareness.
“This is an opportunity for us to strengthen all those measures,” said the CMO even as he admitted that currently the focus remains on the ports of entry, health workers and ensuring that travellers are provided with the needful information on Ebola.