The risk of contracting Ebola in sa国际传媒 is extremely low, but we should still be concerned, not so much for our own health, but for the many thousands suffering or at risk from the disease in West Africa.
The deadly disease makes the headlines daily, but sa国际传媒 has had no confirmed cases. The U.S. has reported six cases, five of which were contracted in Africa. A Liberian visitor to the U.S. died of the disease in Texas, and the nurse who treated him has been diagnosed with Ebola.
We who live in this peaceful, leafy, lovely corner of the world are in little danger. Vigilance has been heightened at our borders, airports and hospitals; health-care professionals are reviewing procedures.
Suzanne Germain of Island Health said the health authority鈥檚 focus is on infection control and on the welfare of health-care workers.
鈥淲e try to expect the unexpected,鈥� she said. 鈥淏eing aware and paying attention is important, for Ebola and anything else.鈥� But she said Island Health continues to emphasize that the public 鈥渋s at low, low, low risk.鈥�
More needs to be done, no doubt. The sa国际传媒 Nurses鈥� Union says sa国际传媒 health authorities are not ready to respond to cases of Ebola, should they be found here. In a letter to Island Health, BCNU president Gayle Duteil says nurses are 鈥渓egitimately scared,鈥� and calls for more training in such things as protocols and use of personal protection equipment.
We need to pay attention to the nurses鈥� concerns, but we are quite safe. It鈥檚 another of many things to be grateful for as we emerge from our Thanksgiving weekend. We have a good health-care system and nutritious food.
It鈥檚 a drastically different picture in West Africa, where more than 8,000 people have contracted Ebola, half of whom have died. The World Health Organization says that within two months, the region will see up to 10,000 new cases a week. The death rate, originally thought to be about 50 per cent, has risen to 70 per cent among more recent patients.
鈥淚 have never seen a health event threaten the very survival of societies and governments in already very poor countries,鈥� said WHO director-general Margaret Chan. 鈥淭he outbreak spotlights the dangers of the world鈥檚 growing social and economic inequalities. The rich get the best care. The poor are left to die.鈥�
Ebola is preventable through vigorous infection-control procedures that have contained previous outbreaks. But this one is worsened by the lack of health-care personnel and supplies. Items such as protective clothing and disinfectants are in short supply or are non-existent.
A Spanish nurse contracted Ebola after treating a victim from Sierra Leone. Because scientific evidence indicates dogs can get the disease without showing symptoms, Spanish authorities seized Excalibur, the nurse鈥檚 dog.
People protested in the streets and the social-networking world went wild. Hundreds of thousands of signatures were collected from around the world on the dog鈥檚 behalf before officials announced that the dog has been euthanized and its body incinerated.
Where is the outcry for the thousands of human beings who are suffering? Where were the howls of outrage for nine-year-old Mercy Kennedy, whose mother had just died from Ebola in Monrovia, Liberia? She was left weeping by herself because no one dared touch her or comfort her. There are many thousands like her.
What could result if all that concern for a dog were directed at raising funds or at persuading governments to send more personnel and supplies to the stricken region?
Our best protection from Ebola is to contain it at its source, to keep it from spreading beyond the borders of affected countries.
But our motives for supporting relief efforts in Africa should be compassion for those who are suffering there, not merely out of concern for the welfare of our safe and privileged part of the world.
