Ebola is not a death sentence, experts tell Nigerians..

Health care workers wear protective gear at the Kenema Government Hospital, Sierra Leone ...on Monday

Medical experts, including a member of the Ebola Prevention Committee, Dr. Oladoyin Odubanjo, on Tuesday urged Nigerians not see the Ebola Virus Disease as a death sentence.

The high-mortality disease, which in interim has no cure, they, however, say is manageable.

The EVD, in the last seven months, has killed no fewer than 1,200 persons in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, and three persons in Nigeria.

A Liberian-American diplomat, Patrick Sawyer, who practically imported the disease into Nigeria on July 20, died five days after.

But reviewing the incidence of the scourge, Odubanjo urged Nigerians not to see it as a death sentence but as “a disease that is manageable”.

Odubanjo stated this when he led members of the EPC to The Punch corporate headquarters at Magboro, Ogun State.

He noted that with the discharge of five persons, including two doctors and two nurses, the country now had a survival rate record of 28 per cent of the virus.

Odubanjo added, “It is not a death sentence. Nigeria has discharged five persons from the Lagos Treatment Centre and certified them fit to lead their normal lives. Nigerians now know that Ebola victims can survive. We should celebrate the fact that we have discharged five Nigerians who are now virus-free.”

The discharged patients, the EPC boss added, “now have greater immunity against the disease than those not infected for the first time.”

Odubanjo explained, “When Ebola patients recover, they are totally free of the virus. In fact, they have a stronger immunity against the viral disease compared to those that are not infected. Before the release or discharge of victims, there is a procedure. We would have tested them well to ensure that they are negative and with no trace of symptoms after five days.

“Immunity studies have shown that those that have contracted it will be immune to that infection for more than a year. In fact, they should be the ones working with us to manage suspected and infected cases because they have the immunity and antibodies to fight the disease than even the health workers.”

The physician further explained that the discharged patients recovered naturally from the viral infection due to early management and treatment given to them by the team of experts.

He stated, “The discharged patients are not the first to have survived the disease. Many people have. We did not use any drug. There is no cure for now and the drugs available are at the experimental stages. But what happened was that we were able to manage the symptoms. Ebola virus damages many parts of the body, including internal organs. An infected patient loses electrolytes and many body fluids that kill. That is why we replace those lost electrolytes by giving fluids.

“If they are having headache, we treat them for that. However, note that you have to treat all the symptoms so that the body system does not give up so that the antibodies can naturally fight and cure the infection. Many patients have survived Ebola. The discharged patients have resumed their normal lives.”

Odubanjo stated that the majority of deaths from Ebola infection were due to fear of stigmatisation and ignorance.

According to him, many patients who should have sought treatment early failed to do so because they thought they would die.

He said, “There are two epidemics to be managed when it comes to Ebola. That is the epidemic of fear and that of the disease itself. The former is more important than the later. Fear kills more people. Countries such as Liberia recorded many deaths because infected patients believed that it was a death sentence and they did not go to hospitals, they ran away. They did not seek treatment and when they saw the symptoms, they refused to go to hospitals because they did not want the authorities to quarantine them.”

Also, a member of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Oluwatoyin Idowu called for an early and better management of the virus, saying it is an elixir for the victims’ survival.

Idowu, who is also a member of the committee, was part of the visit to The PUNCH Place, alongside a media practitioner, Mr. Declan Okpaleke.

She noted that there was a need for the government to increase awareness and propagate the right information on the disease and its mode of transmission to reduce panic and help affected persons overcome the stigma associated with the disease.

Idowu said, “There is a lot of misinformation around town about the mode of transmission of the disease. That is why we lost some patients. They heard that Ebola kills and they did not want to disclose that they had primary contact with the index patient (Sawyer), so they ran to other places and by the time they came in for treatment, it was too late.

“This thing can be managed. There will be no reason to hide. People do recover from the disease, if they receive early treatment. Do not be afraid of being stigmatised, it will save your life.”