27th August, 2014
Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta
Call has gone to Nigerian women to be more cautious to prevent the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD from spreading to their homes.
The call which comes from the leading Islamic women group in Nigeria, Federation of Muslim Women Organisation of Nigeria, FOMWAN, Ogun State chapter was stated during a rally held at the capital city of the State over the weekend.
The rally themed:”Ebola: Our role as a mother and parent”, was staged by women from the popular Kuto garage and market where both the drivers and traders were addressed on how to curb the contagious disease in their various homes.
The women carried placards with inscriptions that read:’Ebola: a severe deadly disease’; ‘Stop eating monkeys and bats’; ‘Always wash your hands all the time’; ‘Report any suspicious symptoms to nearby hospitals’, among
others.
Addressing the mammoth crowd at the Kuto garage, the Amirah (President) of the group, Alhaja Tawakalitu Adegbite warned that, “as a mother, we have a lot of role to play so as to prevent this deadly disease from affecting our
household. We must ensure that cleanliness, which they say, is next to Godliness is embraced. We are the first doctors because what we eat also causes some disinfections as we were informed by medical experts, so we must make sure that all our consumable items are properly taken care of and those to be boiled must be thoroughly boiled. We must also wash our hands after using of toilet and most of the time”, she advised.
Also advising the market women at Kuto, Alhaja Alimot Adeoye, a Community Health Officer from Ipokia town said eating of fruits and vegetables are part of preventive measures to curb Lassa Fever, which according to her, “is inseparable from Ebola virus”.
“What many people don’t know is that Lassa fever and Ebola are inseparable diseases. So, we must be careful of what we eat, we should avoid rat urine infected food, all these could lead to Lassa Fever and if not adequately monitored, can lead to Ebola, which we don’t pray for.
“To prevent all these, I want to advise that anybody above age 40 must be careful of what they consume. Our health system requires much attention and we must pay attention to it because health as we all know is wealth. We should be eating more of fruits and be drinking raw cocoa. Cucumber and garden eggs are more effective among the fruits, if we them early in the morning, the possibility of contracting either Lassa or Ebola diseases is slim,” she posited.
The group however advised both the federal and states government to continually do everything necessary to see that the disease is wiped away from the country.
FOMWAN also revealed that, medical experts have advised that washing of hands is part of the preventive measure, urging people to be vigilant of their environment.
“Aside from all the listed causes and preventive measure, we are also advised to wash our hands immediately after using the ATM machine as it has been part of the ways the deadly virus disease is being spread”, Rabiu, deputy President revealed.
The World Health Organisation in a recent report disclosed that the death toll from the virus had hit 1,473 and over five persons including Dr. (Mrs) Esther Adedevoh, who was the consultant who attended to Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, who brought the disease to Nigeria.
Also, the Ogun state government has received preventive drugs for curbing the disease. In addition, the state has constructed three centers, one in each senatorial districts of the state for isolation of any infected patient.