So far 3800 persons in western Africa have died from the Ebola virus. Two hundred of them were health workers. The global scare on Ebola heightened further with two persons in the US and one in Spain being contacting the infection.
Bangladesh is on alert. The government has said that there are no direct flights between countries in western Africa and Bangladesh, putting Bangladesh into the lower risk category. Even so, the government is on alert and all possible precautionary measures are being taken.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that it has not been possible as yet to bring the epidemic caused by the Ebola virus under control. It states on its website that unless this is brought under control soon, the rate of infection will increase multiple times and by the first week of November the number of infected persons may cross 20,000.
In Bangladesh, Professor Mahmudur Rahman, Director of the government’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), says that patients with Ebola get extremely high fever accompanied by diarrheoa, nausea and internal haemorrhaging.
Bangladesh’s precautions: Sources in the health ministry state that medical teams are working at 25 locations including 10 land ports with India, three international airports, two sea ports and a land port with Myanmar.
Group Captain Zakir Hasan, Director of Dhaka’s international airport, says that a medical desk has been set up at the airport to test passengers arriving from abroad for Ebola virus infection. If there are suspicions concerning any passenger, their name and contact details are recorded. And if anyone is actually detected with the infection, they will be admitted to the Kurmitola General Hospital. Twenty separate beds have been reserved for the purpose.
An international organisation concerning air travel is informing Bangladesh in advance whether any passenger is travelling to Bangladesh from western Africa. So far 106 passengers have come from there to Bangladesh. They are watched for 21 days. The government is also making regular enquiries about the Bangladeshi troops deployed in western Africa on UN peacekeeping missions. They are being sent virus-resistant clothing.
Mahmudur Rahman says so far 1200 doctors have been trained in identification and management of the infection. Bangladesh has the technology to identify the Ebola virus. However, to confirm the infection the suspected person’s blood sample must be sent to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, USA. The government is prepared for this too. He says there is no specific treatment or drugs for this infection. Management is the key control.
Source: Prothom Alo
