Ebola in Lagos – Everything you need to know
Less than 24 hours after the sad news that Sheikh Umar Khan, the 39 year-old doctor from Sierra Leona who has been leading the fight against Ebola, had himself contracted the virus, we hear news of Ebola in Lagos, Obalende area to be precise.
Channels TV reported that a 40 year-old Liberian man is being treated as a possible case of Ebola in Lagos.
The hospital where the man is on admission has been cordoned off (as part of the quarantine protocol for any case of Ebola detection), and the Lagos state government has made a press statement about it. Should you be scared? No; but not because Ebola isn’t serious, but because fear doesn’t work. We don’t need fear. We don’t need panic. We need to take action. Ebola in Lagos, here are the symptoms It typically starts with flu-like symptoms: General feeling of being unwell (“feeling somehow”) Increased body temperature Sore throat and headache Weakness Joint, muscle and chest pain Basically, the person might feel like they have what most of us Nigerians usually think of as malaria symptoms. Others symptoms include: Throat infections: sore throat, hiccups, feeling like you’re out of breath. The nervous system: The nervous system can be affected: headaches, confusions, fatigue, and even seizures and coma. Skin infections : Skin infections will include rashes, bleeding below the skin surface (haematomas—and when they are large, ecchymoses). (This bleeding is not a good sign, by the way.) One more thing to note: The way Ebola spreads is by exposure to body fluids (blood, sweat, saliva, mucus, tears, also , semen and vaginal secretion). It is not known to spread by AIR. EBOLA IS NOT KNOWN TO SPREAD BY AIR. So relax — you don’t have to hold your breath. What can you do to protect yourself? - Wash your hands Often With soap and water. - Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick, and be careful with anything they have touched. If possible, don’t touch it, and if you must, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after. - Urge anyone you know who develops ANY sickness AT ALL or yourself, to get to a hospital FAST. For now, don’t take any sickness lightly. -Remember Ebola starts by looking like regular common cold or malaria. - Share and spread the news to everyone you know. Knowledge is power. Especially when we act on it. Helpful resources Lagos state emergency numbers to call if you notice any Ebola symptoms are as follows : 08023169485 08033086660 08033065303 08055281442 08055329229 There’s news going round about using hand sanitisers. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, a leading public health authority), handwashing with soap and water still beats sanitisers for removing germs. But you have to wash with the right technique, as in the video I shared above! Please go and check it out again and be sure you get the technique right!
The hospital where the man is on admission has been cordoned off (as part of the quarantine protocol for any case of Ebola detection), and the Lagos state government has made a press statement about it. Should you be scared? No; but not because Ebola isn’t serious, but because fear doesn’t work. We don’t need fear. We don’t need panic. We need to take action. Ebola in Lagos, here are the symptoms It typically starts with flu-like symptoms: General feeling of being unwell (“feeling somehow”) Increased body temperature Sore throat and headache Weakness Joint, muscle and chest pain Basically, the person might feel like they have what most of us Nigerians usually think of as malaria symptoms. Others symptoms include: Throat infections: sore throat, hiccups, feeling like you’re out of breath. The nervous system: The nervous system can be affected: headaches, confusions, fatigue, and even seizures and coma. Skin infections : Skin infections will include rashes, bleeding below the skin surface (haematomas—and when they are large, ecchymoses). (This bleeding is not a good sign, by the way.) One more thing to note: The way Ebola spreads is by exposure to body fluids (blood, sweat, saliva, mucus, tears, also , semen and vaginal secretion). It is not known to spread by AIR. EBOLA IS NOT KNOWN TO SPREAD BY AIR. So relax — you don’t have to hold your breath. What can you do to protect yourself? - Wash your hands Often With soap and water. - Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick, and be careful with anything they have touched. If possible, don’t touch it, and if you must, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after. - Urge anyone you know who develops ANY sickness AT ALL or yourself, to get to a hospital FAST. For now, don’t take any sickness lightly. -Remember Ebola starts by looking like regular common cold or malaria. - Share and spread the news to everyone you know. Knowledge is power. Especially when we act on it. Helpful resources Lagos state emergency numbers to call if you notice any Ebola symptoms are as follows : 08023169485 08033086660 08033065303 08055281442 08055329229 There’s news going round about using hand sanitisers. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, a leading public health authority), handwashing with soap and water still beats sanitisers for removing germs. But you have to wash with the right technique, as in the video I shared above! Please go and check it out again and be sure you get the technique right!
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