Kadoma Ebola fears dismissed

Walter Nyamukondiwa Chinhoyi Bureau
THE government yesterday dismissed fears of an Ebola outbreak in Kadoma town following the arrival of two people from Liberia and Sierra Leone last week, the countries most hit by the virus.
Some people posted scary messages on the social media indicating that there was an Ebola outbreak in the town, which has claimed over 1,000 lives in West Africa, after the two arrived.

Mashonaland West provincial medical director Dr Wenceslaus Nyamayaro said the two people had indeed arrived but had been put under surveillance for the next 21 days.

“We received the two after they jetted into the country from Liberia and Sierra Leone,” he said.

“However, we are monitoring the situation and there is no need for people to panic.”

Dr Nyamayaro said the two had not shown any symptoms of the virus and will continue to be monitored.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care has started training health personnel on handling an Ebola outbreak and any suspected cases would be referred to Harare where an isolation centre has been set up at Wilkins Hospital.

Screening of people coming from affected countries is starting at the airport where health personnel raise the red flag for onward surveillance and testing.

There have been no confirmed cases in Zimbabwe and any country in Sadc, but the region is on high alert to deal with any case before it spreads.

Sadc ministers of health held an extraordinary meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, last week to build a consensus on appropriate strategic actions to prevent the introduction or spread of Ebola in the region.

They called for a multi-sectoral approach that includes governments, development partners and churches, among others, to create awareness of the disease in communities.

The ministers also urged governments to commit financial resources to prevent the outbreak of the disease, while member states were urged to assist each other in the event of an outbreak in one of the member states.

South Africa was selected to be the centre of excellence in Ebola laboratory diagnosis in the region.