Introduction: Background of study Ebola virus disease (Ebola or EVD) is a severe, often fatal disease that was first detected near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 1976. Originating in animals, EVD is spread to and among humans through contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of those infected. It is not transmitted through the air. On March 22, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 49 people had contracted EVD in Guinea, West Africa, and 29 of them had died.
As of mid-August, the virus had quickly spread to Liberia, SierrabLeone, and Nigeria. The Ebola virus that is circulating in West Africa is not new, but the current Ebola outbreak has infected and killed more people than all previous Ebola outbreaks combined. As of August 20, 2014, the WHO reported that 2,615 people had contracted the disease, of whom over 1,427 have died, slightly less than the combined cases (2,387) and deaths (1,590) from previous outbreaks. Although there are no drugs proven to prevent or treat EBV, health experts know how to contain it.
The disease is spreading, however, because the health systems in the affected countries are illequipped to undertake requisite containment and disease surveillance measures. Years of neglect and armed conflict have weakened infrastructures, including health systems, in the affected countries, most prominently in Sierra Leone and Liberia. WHO estimated that the outbreak had likely begun in December 2013, but was belatedly reported in March 2014 due to poor disease detection and surveillance capacity. In July 2014, two U. S. citizen health workers contracted Ebola in Liberia and were first provided medication that had shown promise in animal studies but that had not yet been tested in humans.
They were evacuated to the United States to receive additional care. Debate in the United States has ensued regarding entry and exit rights of people infected with communicable diseases; whether the international community (including the United States) had responded early and effectively enough to contain the virus; the appropriate use of experimental drugs that had not yet been tested for human safety and effectiveness, including how to choose recipients of scarce and sometimes costly drug supplies and how to arrange dispensing to allow analysis of safety and effectiveness; and feasible approaches to accelerating drug and vaccine development and the scale- up of manufacturing capacity for investigational products.
The apportionment of most U. S. global health aid is determined by language in appropriations legislation and their accompanying conference reports, which direct the majority of health aid at particular diseases, leaving proportionately fewer resources for broader health system strengthening activities. While deliberating the appropriate response to ongoing Ebola outbreak, as well as FY2015 appropriations, Congress is likely to discuss how to balance support for bolstering weak health systems while directly addressing the health effects of Ebola.
The FY2015 budget includes a 1 / 4 $45 million request from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the newly announced Global Health Security agenda and a $50 million funding proposal for pandemic preparedness efforts implemented by the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The USAID FY2015 budget request is roughly 30% lower than the FY2014 appropriation.
This report discusses these funding issues and examines other related concerns, including the impact Ebola is having on other health problems, such as maternal and child mortality, and the capacity of U. S. agencies to respond rapidly to unforeseen events, like the Ebola outbreak, in light of budgetary constraints and spending directives Epidemiology of Ebola Ebola virus, having five known subtypes, is part of the family of filoviruses and causes the infectious disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever (CDC, 2009,). The virus occurs naturally in animal populations and can be transmitted to and among human populations through ‘direct contact with the body, bodily fluids, or contaminated clothes or linens of an infected person’ (MacNeil and Rollin, 2012).
Commonly, human infection has been associated with entering caves or mines or handling bush meat. Telltale symptoms include fever and bleeding from orifices, with an incubation period of two to 21 days (WHO, 2012). Other symptoms include ‘vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, and myalgia,’ which are symptoms of other tropical diseases (MacNeil and Rollin, 2012). The presence of symptoms that are commonly associated with other diseases is problematic because it makes the disease difficult to diagnose (MacNeil and Rollin, 2012).
A person with Ebola hemorrhagic feverexhibi ting symptoms typical of common tropical diseases can be misdiagnosed and mistreated, and quarantine measures may not be taken. This poses a public health threat. Ebola virus is capable of causing the disease Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The fever is infectious and has a high mortality rate among those who contract it. Case fatality rates are between 25 and 90 per cent (WHO, 2012). As of 02 December 2012, the most recent outbreak of Ebola in Uganda had a case fatality rate of 57 per cent, with four deaths occurring among seven reported cases (WHO,2012). There is no vaccine available for the fever and those who contract the disease are HO, 2012).
Scientists are working toward finding preventive and post-exposure treatments due to the significant threat the virus presents, ‘Ebola virus constitutes an important local public health threat in Africa, with a worldwide effect through imported infections and through the fear of misuse for biological terrorism’ (Feldmann et al. ,2007). While scientists have been conducting research for years to find a vaccine for Ebola virus, no approved vaccine for humans has yet been developed. On 13 June 2012, Nature reported the publication of research in Science Translational Medicine finding that if given a cocktail of antibodies within 24 hours of exposure to the Ebola virus, monkeys survived and were cured of the virus (Ndhlovu, 2012).
Additionally, on 29 January 2013, research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal showing that a vaccine ‘protected macaques from Ebola virus and Marburg virus infections, both prophylactically pre-exposure and post-exposure’ by eliciting the body to produce certain antibodies (Marzi et al. , 2013). These are major advancements in the search for an Ebola cure.
However, an effective, approved vaccine against viral hemorrhagic fevers for humans will take time to develop. Due to the threat Ebola poses not only in East Africa but to humanity in general, the scientific and political communities must place more emphasis on finding a cure for humans. Statement of Problem The threat of an Ebola is a global health and security concern, and should not be ignored. While the threat is unlikely due to difficulties in obtaining the virus and recruiting experts to handle and weaponize the virus, the threat still exists and is increasing due to the more frequent outbreaks and subsequent accessibility to the virus in East Africa.
A threat- nexus occurs in East Africa: there is a history of terrorism in the region; Ebola naturally occurs there; the virus has the ability to be used as a lethal bioterrorist agent, killing 25 to 90 per cent of those infected; and there is no vaccine for Ebola. Ebola’s epidemiological makeup creates circumstances in which it could spread quickly to all 2 / 4 parts of the globe. Global health and security are currently compromised because a vaccine has not been discovered to prevent and treat the virus and to deter bioviolence.
The political will in both the developed and developing world does not exist to cultivate such a vaccine. Several steps need to be taken to change the threat a deliberate Ebola attack in East Africa poses to global health and security, including stronger political will to develop a vaccine; increased surveillance and prediction capabilities; sharing of information and resources with partners in East Africa; and training individuals working in East Africa in prevention. These measures will help deter an offensive Ebola outbreak in East Africa and will mitigate the effects of another natural outbreak in the region.
Research Question What are the environmental health and safety risks associated with ebola in Ijebu Ode general hospital? What are the recognized health problems associated with ebola? What are the measure taken by health workers towards prevention of ebola virus What health promotion practices and appropriate steps are needed policy changes? Justification of Study The benefit of this study is the expectation that health workers of general hospital would live in cleaner and virus-free environment which will enhance healthy development and survival.
Besides, the study will help to determine how far health workers have been able to improve the life of the patient and how well such services have being utilized to full advantage by the students in maintaining a clean environment. It will also facilitate adequate coverage and assist in proper planning of future progarmmes geared towards the realization of the prevention of ebola as well as the millennium development goals in the state. An Ebola bio-attack in East Africa is a potential threat for global public health for several reasons.
First, because we are now living in a globalized world where people and objects can travel quickly from one part of the globe to another, a disease as potentially contagious as Ebola could also travel as rapidly. The east African region is a destination for foreign investors, tourists, health workers, diplomats, students and non-governmental organization representatives. For example, ‘the growing popularity of China as a destination for both short- and long-term training for Kenyans…cannot be separated from the wider involvement of China in Kenya’s infrastructure development…and Chinese migration to East Africa’ (King, 2010, p. 488).
The steady flow of people and goods to and from East Africa demonstrates the ease with which a pathogen can travel. Additionally, the ‘globalization of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and the diffusion of information about the life sciences are making the ingredients necessary to develop biological weapons—knowledge, expertise, equipment, and materials—more widely available’ (Koblentz, 2010, p. 102). While globalization has made it easier for an infectious disease to travel and for non-experts to access biotechnological advancements, it has also provided improvements in more effectively responding to Ebola outbreaks. However, the fact remains that there is no cure, and once someone is infected with Ebola, there is a chance it will spread and infect others.
Significant of Study It is stated that a clean and healthy environment is the fundamental right of every Nigerian, no matter where he or she lives. The ebola response activities to date have generated significant knowledge on the effectiveness and limitations of current approaches, highlighting key areas for course corrections. Clearly a massively scaled and coordinated international response is needed to support affected and at risk countries in intensify response activities and strengthening national capacities.
Broad Objectives of Study To evaluate the measure taken by health workers towards prevention of ebola virus in Ijebu-Ode General Hospital Specific objectives of Study To ensure emergency and immediate application of comprehensive Ebola response interventions in 3 / 4 Ijebu Ode general hospital To strengthen preparedness of health workers to rapidly detect and respond to an Ebola exposure, especially those sharing land with areas of active transmission and those with local transportation hubs Recommend measures that would facilitate proper evaluation of environmental health services to enhance optimum performance for the benefit of the health workers.
Research Methodology Research Design Descriptive survey research design will be used for this study because of its suitability for data collection from relatively large number of sample at a particular time. Hassan (1995), also stated that descriptive survey research attempts to identify variables that exists in a given situation. Data Collection The self-designed questionnaire will be administered and collection of completed questionnaire was done on the spot as soon as they finish attempting the questions.
The self administration will be intended to enable the respondents to obtain clarifications on any issue that needs to be explained to the respondents Research Instrument questionnaire will be used to obtain data from the respondents which will be distributed to Health workers in Ijebu Ode Local Government. Population of Study The study would be carried out among health workers of Ijebu Ode Local Government at that period. One hundred (100) questionnaires would be distributed to the respondents to obtain their responses as related to the measure taken by health workers on the prevention of ebola.
Sample/sampling Methods The sample method employed would be purposive random sampling to obtain the responses from respondents. The sample for this study would be drawn from randomly selected Health workers of Ijebu Ode Local Government. Data Analysis The completed questionnaire would be collected and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics of frequency distribution counts and percentages would be used while the inferential statistics of chi-square (X2) frequency distribution table for data presentation would be used.
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