Ebola: As Nigerians await Agric Quarantine Service interventions

Ebola virus victim

Ebola: As Nigerians await NAQS interventions   

It is quite unfortunate that emergence of the new Ebola virus has intensified already heated socio-political situation in the country. The Federal Government is not done yet battling with the scourge of insurgency, political crises while the new trend surfaced like a storm.

Obviously, the outbreak of Ebola virus has deteriorated the momentum for bringbackourgirls campaign which seemingly stood as government priority until now. Clearly, Ebola seems to have taken the centre stage.  

So far, the sordid trend has pulled international attention to the Africa continent and most especially, Nigeria. The country recorded first death to the virus when a Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer died recently in the country after days of medical isolation. Not less than 800 people have been reported dead due to the outbreak in the West Africa region including Nigeria. Latest in the count was the medical officials that attended to the late Sawyer. Other selected health officials numbering about 70 are already in panic of perhaps, being infected.

No doubt, several efforts have been made to contain spread of the virus. Campaigns from various quarters in different languages have increased on the media. The Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu also came on air advising Nigerians to desist from intake of bush meat as well as restrict contact with likely victims. Unfortunately he disclosed absence of any scientifically proven cure.

Invariably, the only option to reduce the virus spread is to increase nationwide awareness and intensify research on likely cure. The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), an agency under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has much responsibility at its disposal, especially partnering with the Nigerian Custom Service and other relevant health officials.   

World Bank intervenes

The $200 million immediate intervention approved by the World Bank was targeted to contain the spread of the virus, help local communities cope with economic impact of the crises as well as improve on public health systems in the region especially Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone where it is on high impact.  It is however expected that impacts of this intervention on the highly prone nations would foster significant reduction of the virus in the country as well as other neighbouring countries.

“I am very worried that many more lives are at risk unless we can stop this Ebola epidemic in its tracks.

“I have been monitoring its deadly impact around the clock and am deeply saddened at how it has ravaged health workers, families and communities, disrupted normal life…the international community needs to act fast to contain and stop this Ebola outbreak,” World Bank Group President, Dr. Jim Yong Kim said.  

Does it affect agric produce?

Many have wondered what role the agricultural sector plays in the outbreak and likely check of Ebola virus. Based on reports from the World Health Organisation WHO, the origin of this virus is uncertain but it is believed that fruit bats are most considered host of the virus.

The global health organisation reported that the virus first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and in Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo. The latter was in a village situated near the Ebola River, from which the disease takes its name.

Experts have it that consumption of fruits that might have dropped from trees may expose people to the virus especially school children who may be ignorant of the trend.

According to a medical expert, Mr Chris Onukwuba, it is important to avoid intake of bush meats. More so, people should avoid contacts with animals prone to the virus and fluid that may emanate from them. “For Ebola, if a bat eats fruits, it transmits some of the virus into the fruits and if you pick such fruits and eat you will be infected. So, we have to advocate against picking fruits that drop from the tree that is a way to curtail the spread.

“In an endemic area where there are bats, you just have to leave fruits that drop off the trees for now,” he added.

Meanwhile, in an effort to check the spread of the highly contagious virus, it is worthy to note that part of the mandate of the NAQS is to prevent spread of exotic pests and diseases arising from of all agricultural products into the country. More so, it is expected to provide effective science-based regulatory service for quality assurances of agric products through consistent enforcement of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures for promoting a secured and sustainable agricultural and economic development.

It could be recalled that the NAQS last Tuesday warned Nigerians against eating unidentified bush meat and fallen fruits plucked by animals, as a preventive measure against Ebola Virus.

Co-ordinating Director of the service, Dr. Faseyitan Kola stated in Abuja that it became vital for the service to do awareness campaign to prevent spread of the virus. “When you talk of Ebola virus disease, animals are involved, the primates : Apes, Gorilla, Monkeys and fruits Bats, because they are reservoir homes. They inhabit the virus without being affected; the only time they are involved is when you have close contact with these animals.

“When you talk of close contact you talk of even when they are being processed as delicacy such as bush meat that people buy on the road. We are trying to discourage people from eating bush meat except you can prove the origin; even mere displaying it and it’s touched by someone that has that disease, it’s already infected,” Kola stated.

The NAQS used the opportunity to discuss on the organisation’s measures to curb spread from animals especially across the nation’s borders. According to the Service coordinator, all quarantine offices had been put on alert.

“Immediately we learnt about the Ebola virus we sent alert to all our workers so that we try to get them alerted on what should be done when such things are seen. We know that monkeys, primates pass along our borders; so, we sent the message to four zonal offices and 39 field offices along the borders.

“And we informed them that they should be careful and well-protected with Personal Protective Covering from direct contact with those animals. As a human being when you have such disease you have contact with the animals, the animal now transmits to another animal and the thing continues to spread.

“Therefore, we alerted interstate movement not to allow these animals to pass from one state to another; we call it Control Post.”

As the African community and the nation expects quick solution to the virus, it is important for the people to heed to guidelines provided by the authorities. In addition, much hope is on the NAQS to justify its purpose prove annual budgetary allocations to the Service is not futile.   

FACT SHEET

·         Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.

·         EVD outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 90%.

·         EVD outbreaks occur primarily in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.

·         The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.

·         Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are considered to be the natural host of the Ebola virus.

·         Severely ill patients require intensive supportive care. No licensed specific treatment or vaccine is available for use in people or animals.