Health Ministry gets support to fight Ebola

Nov 02, 2014 News

“The Ebola threat is looming,” said Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud, as

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Shamdeo Persaud (left), receives the donation of supplies from Food for the Poor (FFTP) CEO, Mr Kent Vincent. They are flanked by officials from GPHC and FFTP.

he accepted a quantity of medical supplies from the Food for the Poor (Guyana) Inc. organisation on Friday. According to Dr Persaud, Guyana is making preparations to combat the virus although there has not yet been any reported cases detected here.
“We are doing everything in our power to prevent Ebola from getting to Guyana and so we still have to be prepared,” added the CMO as he spoke of plans to augment activities in this regard. “This week we are ramping up all of our activities…we have already established at the ports (of entry) facilities to screen people who are coming in from countries that have the threat of Ebola to identify as early as possible such cases,” said Dr Persaud.
He disclosed yesterday that efforts have also been made to establish a treatment centre at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and another at the West Demerara Regional Hospital in Region Three. These facilities, he noted, will serve as quarantine facilities for persons found to be infected with the Ebola Virus.
Moreover, he disclosed that the supplies donated by the Food for the Poor will go towards helping to operationalise the facilities. “…The need for (treating) Ebola is great, everything that we use on somebody has to be disposed of…so in competing with the other needs of our institution – surgery and the other wards and so on – we think that these supplies will be very useful,” said Dr Persaud.
Dr Persaud along with Minister of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsaran, recently met with officials of Food for the Poor with regards to the possible support that can be forthcoming in terms of helping to combat Ebola. In fact, Dr Persaud said that Food for the Poor was the first locally-based organisation that signalled its intention to render such support.
“They have delivered on a promise so that we can move our preparedness process forward and I think this will assure all Guyanese that whatever we receive here will go to the use of getting prepared for Ebola…setting up our units, setting up our quarantine stations, etc,” outlined an appreciative Dr Persaud.
The donation was handed over by Food for the Poor Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kent Vincent, who disclosed that among the items donated were gowns, pillows, blankets, drapes, towels, linens, sheets, among others. And according to Vincent, “as more items come in we are going to be making more donations to the Ministry, as Guyana seeks to prevent the outbreak of Ebola here.”
The Ebola Virus has been wreaking unprecedented havoc in sections of West Africa after being detected there earlier this year. Reports suggest that to date almost 5,000 people have already died and many more are infected with the virus which is transmitted through human to human contact with body fluids including: blood, faeces, vomit, breast milk, urine and semen.
Symptoms of the Ebola Virus could manifest similar to that of a common flu including: headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, high fever, weakness, stomach pain and lack of appetite. However, as the virus advances other symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function can develop as can internal and external bleeding.
But although infected, a person may not manifest symptoms of the virus until three weeks later, based on information from the World Health Organisation.

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