LAGOS – The Rivers Commissioner for Health, Dr Tamuno Parker, on Tuesday advised Nigerians to continue with best personal and public hygiene practices to avoid contacting Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) during the yuletide.
Parker gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
“There is need for everybody to be at alert by observing best practices in personal and public hygiene.
“I dread that the drift of the EVD may be in this season when people will be coming back home for Christmas.
“This is why all our isolation and treatment centres are still open. Surveillance is still on,’’ he told NAN.
“The points of entry into our country are still under surveillance and we have started to quarantine people from some “risk prone’’ countries for 21 days, before we let them into the country.
“The battle is on. So, it is something that we must check as well as continue public enlightenment.
“Best hygiene practices include reporting people with symptoms of Ebola virus, avoiding direct or close contact with people with Ebola symptoms, particularly with their body fluids and frequent hand washing with soap.’’
Parker advised health workers to also be vigilant and “maintain and take standard precautions when caring for patients, regardless of their presumed diagnosis’’.
The commissioner said the initial symptoms of EVD were sudden onset of fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat
.
“This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea and both internal and external bleeding.
“These symptoms manifest after an incubation period of two to 21 days. Humans are not infectious until they develop these symptoms.
“We have established good standards in the management of public health challenges after the experiences with EVD in Lagos and Rivers,’’ he said.
Parker noted that there were still some countries around Nigeria that still have cases of EVD.
“So, we can’t say we have contained and controlled the war against EVD in Nigeria if these countries around us are still being ravaged by EVD.
“This is because there is still movement in and out of the borders and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not declared anywhere to be closed.’’
He called for the adoption of practices and strategy used in containing EVD in Lagos and Rivers to eradicate the virus in affected countries in the region.
“This is a collaborative drive as individuals and the government have their own different roles to play but for a common purpose.
“We need to be vigilant and proactive,’’ Parker said. (NAN)
Ebola: Commissioner calls for best personal, public hygiene practices during yuletide
Loading...
