Ebola: Ahead of NBA annual general conference, participants express concerns over safety
On Tuesday, a Nigerian staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) died of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), becoming the third victim of the dreaded virus since its emergence in Nigeria.
The latest victim, Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir, a Protocol Assistant at the ECOWAS Liaison Office in Lagos, was among those who assisted the Liberian diplomat Patrick Sawyer, the index case believed to have brought the disease to Nigeria. Sawyer exhibited symptoms of the disease on arrival in Lagos on 20th July for an ECOWAS Conference, and died on 25th July at a private hospital in Lagos.
This latest incident again gives vent to the highly fatal nature of the ebola virus disease. The Ebola virus has no known cure and up to 90 percent fatality rate. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Ebola. Outbreaks can spread rapidly, with an incubation period as brief as two days. Therefore, preventing the ebola virus from spreading remains the best option.
Already, this is the largest and worst ebola virus outbreak in history, with the death toll now at 1,014 from a total of 1,848 cases. mIn Nigeria, 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case have been placed under surveillance, with 9 having developed EVD, bringing the total number of cases in Nigeria to 10. Of these 10, three have died while 7 are currently quarantined in Lagos. Further tracing of contacts is ongoing.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the current ebola outbreak an International Health Emergency requiring extraordinary response in an effort to contain the pandemic. It has also taken the unusual step of declaring as ethical the use of ZMAPP, an untested and unproven drug, to try to contain the scourge. Though the role of the Federal Government in preventing the emergence of the ebolavirus disease in Nigeria remains questionable, the government has followed the WHO example by declaring the ebola outbreak a national emergency.
However, the Ebola threat is real. Many countries have put their healthcare and ports personnel on the highest alert. Barely a week ago, Ken Isaacs, the spokesman for Samaritan’s Purse whose two American staff contracted the virus while treating patients in Liberia, warned the United States Congress that Ebola is going to emerge with a fury in Nigeria in about three weeks due to Sawyer’s case.
The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also issued a Level 2 Travel Alert on Nigeria, warning travelers to take precautionary measures to minimize their risks of contracting the disease.
The above scenario paints a grim picture of the serious hazards posed by the current pandemic in the face of weak healthcare systems and scarce national resources. Even with less than 15 EVD cases, Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu has raised an alarm on the shortage of care-givers to treat Ebola victims, asking for more volunteers. The ebola virus poses a serious threat to care-givers, some of whom have died in the process of treating patients. It is therefore better imagined than described if the current state of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria is allowed to exacerbate. Accordingly, it is expected that all concerned will act in a manner that aids a speedy containment of the Ebola outbreak.
It is against this backdrop and the forthcoming NBA Annual General Conference (AGC) in Owerri that I urge the NBA leadership to critically assess the threats posed by the AGC to lawyers in particular and generally to efforts by local and international stakeholders to stem the spread of the ebola virus disease.
Given that the AGC is reputed as the largest gathering of lawyers on earth, with atimes over 10,000 lawyers in attendance, and consistent with the mode of transmission of the Ebola virus including direct physical contact with body fluids of an infected person such as blood, saliva, urine and sweat or contact with objects contaminated by these fluids, I urge the NBA leadership not only to put measures in place to safeguard participants at the week-long event, but to critically assess the adequacy of emergency healthcare measures aimed to protect lawyers, exhibitors and visitors. This is the least that can be done under this grave national emergency.
No effort should be spared to contain this potential pandemic that is already affecting the socio-economic and religious life of the nation.
Flowing from the above assessment, if the NBA leadership comes to the view that the risk of Ebola virus spread cannot be adequately managed at this time due to inadequate healthcare facilities and personnel and the inherently electric nature of AGC activities, perhaps a postponement of the conference may be a valid option. The incoming NBA Executive can ill-afford a test case against it on the grounds of negligence by wilful endangerment of life.
Emeka Nwadioke