Lagos state government recently issued an alert on the deadly Ebola virus presently ravaging some countries in West Africa. In a statement signed by the state's Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris who issued the alert, said it is a precautionary measure to forestall the outbreak of the virus in the state. Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea have recorded a number of cases of the disease.
The statement said:
"Ebola virus is caused by the Ebola virus and outbreaks occur primarily in villages of the Central and West Africa. The virus can be spread through, close contact with the blood, body fluids, organ and tissues of infected animals; direct contact with blood, organ or body secretions of an infected person. The transmission of the virus by other animals like monkeys and chimpanzees cannot be ruled out. Early symptoms of disease include fever, headache, chills, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sore throat, backache, and joint pains. Later symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose, bleeding from the mouth and rectum, eye swelling, swelling of the genitals and rashes all over the body that often contain blood. It could progress to coma, shock and death.”
He said individuals that are of high risk of getting infected are health workers, families or friends of an infected person who could be infected in the course of feeding, holding and caring for them. The measures to take to avoid being infected include; washing of hands often with soap and water, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and ensuring that objects used by the sick are decontaminated and properly disposed. He also advised that any suspected case should be immediately reported to the state's Ministry of Health or any Local Government.
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