By CHILA NAMAIKO –
IT first appeared in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks, in Nzara, Sudan, and Yambuku in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).This is Ebola, a viral disease which has now killed over 10,000 people in West Africa.
As of  March 28, this year, Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) had claimed 10, 413 deaths from the 25,065 reported cases in the hardest hit countries Liberia, Serria Leone and Guinea.
Apart from the most-hit Liberia, Serria Leone and Guinea, Ebola outbreak had spread to Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Spain, United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), reports that between 1976 and 2013, there were 24 outbreaks involving 1,716 cases but the ongoing epidemic in West Africa is said to be the largest outbreak in history.
Since spate of the epidemic in West Africa in 2014, WHO has estimated the number of illness and deaths in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, to have grown from 21,373 to 24,701 and 8,468 to 10,194.
Owing to this disease’s atrociousness, WHO has since declared the EVD a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”.

• THE Ebola virus has claimed many lives.

The Ebola spread has no boundaries, any nation could be affected. Therefore, an in-depth perceptive of the nature of this disease, how it is transmitted, and how to prevent it from spreading further, becomes an important facet which presses for concerted efforts from various stakeholders, the media inclusive.
EVD, according to various researches, is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, or other bodily fluids and organs of infected animals such as Chimpanzees, Gorillas, Fruit bats, Monkeys and Forest Antelopes.
The virus swells in the communities through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact through broken skin or mucous membranes, the blood, discharges, or other bodily fluids and organs of infected people. On the other hand, EVD can further spread through indirect contacts with environments contaminated with such fluids.
Being a vicious disease, the Ebola signs and symptoms start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus with a fever, sore throat, muscular pain, and headaches. Vomiting, diarrhea and rash usually follow, along with decreased function of the liver and kidneys.
At this time some people begin to bleed both internally and externally. The disease has a high risk of death, killing between 25 and 90 per cent of those infected with an average of about 50 percent due to low blood pressure from fluid loss, and typically follows six to sixteen days after symptoms appear.
During an outbreak, those at higher risk of infection are health workers, family members or others in close contact with infected people, mourners who have direct contact with bodies of the deceased as part of burial ceremonies including hunters in the rain forest who come into contact with dead animals found lying in the forest.
Although there is no immediate threat of Ebola spread to nations such as Zambia, considering the extent of the outbreak, and recognising the ease with which people can travel between two points in the world, the Ministry of Health has heightened its alert status.
Being a landlocked nation sharing eventful borders with nine neighbouring countries in which people move to and from the Ebola affected areas, Zambia could possibly record an outbreak.
In an effort to curb any Ebola outbreak, Government has established the National Ebola Treatment Centre at Maina Soko Military Hospital in Lusaka where a team of health personnel has been trained to handle possible case of the deadly Ebola virus.
Conversely, an exclusive of media in disseminating information to the masses about Ebola transmission and prevention, efforts by stakeholders to ward-off the disease could not be achieved.
This is because the media, which tie up both print and electronic, in Zambia, as in many parts of the World, play an indispensable role to educate and inform the masses.
In realising significance of the media’s role, the Ministry of Health organised a two-day orientation workshop at Mika Hotel in Lusaka of the media personnel drawn from five provinces namely Lusaka, Central, Southern, Eastern and Western.
The orientation was splited into two groupings, the first one comprised journalists from both community radio stations and public institutions such as TIMES OF ZAMBIA, ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL, Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) and the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), while the second group was designed for Disk Jockeys (DJs).
The workshop with facilitators drawn from the Ministry of Health and the Disaster Management and Unit (DMMU), was as one way of contributing to the preparedness and implementation of the National Rapid Response and Preparedness Plan.
Ministry of Health Clinical Specialist for Communicable Diseases Callitus Kaayunga said Government was targeting specific audiences such as health workers, school-going children, traditional leaders and the media to ensure more Ebola information was disseminated.
In his presentation on the Ebola Preparedness in Zambia, Dr Kaayunga said that more Ebola holding centres and isolation facilities had also been established in districts countrywide.
The Government, through the Treasury, had also released K10.7 million for the Ebola Preparedness in Zambia, though, the country had not recorded any case of the disease.
“The Ministry of Health has put in place stringent measures to ensure any possible outbreak of EVD is combated such as Government establishing Maina Soko Military Hospital as the national treatment centre,” he said.
The testing of suspected Ebola cases was being provided by University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Veterinary Lab- BSL-3 Lab in which any positive sample would be sent to NICD.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Davy Chikamata said Government was on high alert to combat any possible case of EVD and urged the media to help the masses in understanding the disease.
Dr Chikamata said that it was the duty of various stakeholders in the country such as health personnel and the media to firmly inform and educate the masses about Ebola.
“The fact that we have countries that have continued to report cases and deaths should be reason enough for all of us not to be complacent but maintain an active role in our respective sectors. We are doing our part as a health sector, the media needs to do its part consistently too,” he said.
Ministry of Health director Disease, Surveillance, Control and Research, Elizabeth Chizema said Government would continue coordinating activities under Ebola rapid response and preparedness team.
In fortifying teamwork with the media, Lusaka Province Medical officer Kennedy Malama urged Journalists to spread factual information to avoid misleading the masses on various health matters.
Dr Malama emphasised need for Journalists to adhere to professionalism and report accurately saying erroneous dissemination of information could have adverse effects to the masses.
On the other hand, during the times of natural and man-made disasters, the media often has an unintended dual role, both reporting the event and acting as a catalyst for evoking responses.
It becomes a vital actor for issuing warnings of disasters, alerting Government officials, relief organisations and the public to potential dangers, for gathering and transmitting information about affected areas and for facilitating discussing disaster preparedness and response.
In her presentation on Dos and Don’ts in disaster reporting, Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) Information, Education and Communications officer Sylvia Mwelwa urged the media to play key roles through effective advocacy and information dissemination.
“The media should provide an important disaster management public service especially in broadcasting alerts, warnings and advisories. It should play a helpful role in supplying needed information to decision makers,” she said.
In Zambia, like any other nation, Ms Mwelwa said the vulnerable people were usually the most affected and socially disadvantaged and were the least equipped to cope up with the situation.
In this regard, the media has a fundamental responsible role not only in awareness but also in accurate and informed reporting of events and issues to foster better living standard of people.
Ms Mwelwa implored the media to establish dedicated channels during the aftermath of a calamity in order to provide specific information to the local people and condition.
A Journalist needs to provide factual data on casualties and get information from official administrative sources such as DMMU, concerned ministries, NGOs or community leadership.
During the pre- disaster phase the media should educate through dissemination early warning messages to the people while during the post-disaster phase, the media need make follow ups.
Ms Mwelwa called on the media in the country to continue working closely with disaster managers in view of the fact that disaster management was the responsibility of everybody.
“I can imagine how life could be without using the media. It should therefore be underscored that the media play a critical role in disseminating information and should act as a bridge between the affected community and the concerned stakeholders”, she said.