This Week: Every Country must be involved in the fight against ZIKA virus
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Kelvin ESIASA
By Kelvin Esiasa
The world is now in fear of another major outbreak of a deadly virus. Just recovering from the Ebola virus that had killed more than 11,000 people across the globe, ZIKA virus seem to be a deadly virus.
During the fight against ebola, many governments showed a lot of weakness. Some of the weakness in the fight against Ebola included the slow response to provide emergent support to affected communities. For instance, Sierra Leone had three key challenges that were prominent and these included inadequate logistics, resistance to behavioral change and inadequate technical expertise.
A Sierra Leonean, Zahiyer Sheriff shared the following poignant account :
Augusta Vandy – aged 15 years, died of Ebola at home in Wellington near Freetown on 18th October 2014, two weeks after the death of both of her parents. She had been taking care of her two younger sisters, one aged 9 years and the other just 5 months old. On the 14th October 2014, an ambulance was called to come and pick up Augusta who had become ill; and each day during that week multiple calls were made to the helpline by NGOs, family members and friends, requesting a vehicle to take Augusta and her siblings for testing and treatment. On 16th October, 2014, as her health worsened, Augusta decided to sleep on the veranda as she was worried about infecting her sisters. There were 57 people waiting for an ambulance in the Western Area on Saturday and we learned that the service could not respond. Augusta died on 18 October 2014. The ambulance finally arrived on the afternoon of the 19th; they could only take her remains away. So at Augusta’s house in Wellington on the morning of 20th October, was her 9 year-old sister struggling to take care of her 5-month old sibling who was now showing signs of fever. Distraught family members and friends stood outside the house giving advice and support but unable to enter. Calls continued to be made for a vehicle to take the girls to an isolation/treatment unit.
The other challenge that was key in the fight against Ebola was lack of support from government across the global. Apart from America and its collaborating partners, other nations especially African countries failed to contribute significantly to the fight against Ebola.
Therefore, there is need for all concerned parties to team up and fight against the ZIKA virus.
According to the media, Zika virus is related to dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. Ziku virus has been found to affect the fetus in the womb and stunt the growth of its brain making it essential for the would-be-mothers to know everything about it from their caretaker.
Zika virus, which damages the growth of the fetus, has spread rapidly across 22 countries in the territories of Latin American and Caribbean islands. The virus is traced as far as April 18, 1947, with a caged rhesus monkey in the Zika Forest of Uganda came down with a fever.
In 1956, researchers reported that a related mosquito species Aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito could ferry the Virus to mice and monkeys in the lab. Between 1951 and 1981, serological evidence remnants of immune responses to the virus in blood was found in people from Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, and Gabon.
Brazil, the country at the frontline of the Zika crisis, has admitted it is struggling to comprehend, let alone cope with, the epidemic. Therefore, as we fight against the virus all countries must be involved. All leaders across the global must be involved.
Kelvin Esiasa – President for Zambian Society for Public Administration and Society for Family Business.
This Week: Every Country must be involved in the fight against ZIKA virus
Kelvin ESIASA
By Kelvin Esiasa
The world is now in fear of another major outbreak of a deadly virus. Just recovering from the Ebola virus that had killed more than 11,000 people across the globe, ZIKA virus seem to be a deadly virus.
During the fight against ebola, many governments showed a lot of weakness. Some of the weakness in the fight against Ebola included the slow response to provide emergent support to affected communities. For instance, Sierra Leone had three key challenges that were prominent and these included inadequate logistics, resistance to behavioral change and inadequate technical expertise.
A Sierra Leonean, Zahiyer Sheriff shared the following poignant account :
Augusta Vandy – aged 15 years, died of Ebola at home in Wellington near Freetown on 18th October 2014, two weeks after the death of both of her parents. She had been taking care of her two younger sisters, one aged 9 years and the other just 5 months old. On the 14th October 2014, an ambulance was called to come and pick up Augusta who had become ill; and each day during that week multiple calls were made to the helpline by NGOs, family members and friends, requesting a vehicle to take Augusta and her siblings for testing and treatment. On 16th October, 2014, as her health worsened, Augusta decided to sleep on the veranda as she was worried about infecting her sisters. There were 57 people waiting for an ambulance in the Western Area on Saturday and we learned that the service could not respond. Augusta died on 18 October 2014. The ambulance finally arrived on the afternoon of the 19th; they could only take her remains away. So at Augusta’s house in Wellington on the morning of 20th October, was her 9 year-old sister struggling to take care of her 5-month old sibling who was now showing signs of fever. Distraught family members and friends stood outside the house giving advice and support but unable to enter. Calls continued to be made for a vehicle to take the girls to an isolation/treatment unit.
The other challenge that was key in the fight against Ebola was lack of support from government across the global. Apart from America and its collaborating partners, other nations especially African countries failed to contribute significantly to the fight against Ebola.
Therefore, there is need for all concerned parties to team up and fight against the ZIKA virus.
According to the media, Zika virus is related to dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. Ziku virus has been found to affect the fetus in the womb and stunt the growth of its brain making it essential for the would-be-mothers to know everything about it from their caretaker.
Zika virus, which damages the growth of the fetus, has spread rapidly across 22 countries in the territories of Latin American and Caribbean islands. The virus is traced as far as April 18, 1947, with a caged rhesus monkey in the Zika Forest of Uganda came down with a fever.
In 1956, researchers reported that a related mosquito species Aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito could ferry the Virus to mice and monkeys in the lab. Between 1951 and 1981, serological evidence remnants of immune responses to the virus in blood was found in people from Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, and Gabon.
Brazil, the country at the frontline of the Zika crisis, has admitted it is struggling to comprehend, let alone cope with, the epidemic. Therefore, as we fight against the virus all countries must be involved. All leaders across the global must be involved.
Kelvin Esiasa – President for Zambian Society for Public Administration and Society for Family Business.
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