EBOLA PREVENTION FACTS / RISKY RUMOURS

1. D
r.Aneek
G
upta
EBOLA PREVENTION FACTS / RISKY RUMOURS
PREVENTION FACTS
To prevent the transmission of Ebola virus disease from one person to another it is necessary
to take the following precautions:
1. Do not touch sick people who show symptoms of Ebola including for example fever,
diarrhoea, vomiting, headaches and sometimes heavy bleeding.
2. Do not touch the dead bodies of suspected or confirmed Ebola patients.
3. Wash your hands with water and soap regularly.
A month after the government announced the outbreak, the need for information remains
high. To disseminate the messages more rapidly and reinforce their content, WHO and its
partners have been engaging religious leaders, tribal leaders, traditional healers and
community leaders to help with the outreach.
“It was particularly important to start a dialogue with the traditional healers early as some
patients prefer to see them instead of consulting the staff at a nearby health centre,” says
Julienne Anoko, an anthropologist from Cameroon who has been hired by WHO to help with
the response to the outbreak. “As they see and touch many people with different symptoms,
they are at high risk. They need to know how they and their patients can protect themselves
and that quack cures can put lives in danger.”
RISKY RUMOURS
Rumours can be very harmful. Recently, a team of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) had to
temporarily stop work at the isolation ward in Macenta in Guinée Forestière, because the
medical staff were falsely accused of having brought the virus to the country.
Accurate and timely information helps people to take precautions and take a more rational
approach towards the disease. It ensures that people who fall sick with the typical Ebola
symptoms are quickly brought to the hospital for testing and care and that families do not hide
their sick family members.
The Ministry of Health, WHO and its partners know that they will only win the fight against
Ebola, if they also win the fight against myths and misconceptions.
http://www.who.int/features/2014/ebola-myths/en/
Please don't keep this information to yourself send to all your contacts including your
enemies.
PLEASE share this.
Dr Aneek Gupta