VIRUS COULD WIPE OUT SWAZIS IN 21 DAYS

MBABANE – The country’s population could be wiped out in 21 days should the deadly Ebola virus strike.

Different speakers told a seminar dubbed; Ebola, what if it hits us? that the virus was very deadly and it was important for all countries to be on high alert because it was spreading like wildfire in West Africa.
Programme Director Dr Sabelo Dlamini said there was a great need for everyone to be on high alert in case the virus hits the Southern African region. Currently, close to 1 450 people have died as a result of the epidemic.
Dr Dlamini said the recent outbreak has sent panic to most parts of the world.

He made an example of the world’s largest airliner British Airways suspending all their flights to West Africa. Dr Dlamini said this showed that no one was safe from the virus and it was for that reason that the University of Swaziland, Mbabane campus organised the two-hour seminar.

He said this was meant to equip their students with information to easily deal with the outbreak, should it hit Swaziland.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak as the world greatest challenge in the last 40 years. I am told that there was an outbreak of Ebola in 1976 and it never killed so many people like it has now,” Dr Dlamini said.

He jokingly said he was now scared of travelling because he might get in contact with people infected by the virus.
Professor Nonhlanhla Sukati said the virus poses a high risk to health care providers and the general public.
“Ebola is a lipid enveloped, single stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus of the genes in the family filoviradae. It causes severe hemorrhagic fever syndrome in humans and primates such as monkeys and chimpanzees.
“It has the potential to change shape and size depending on the environmental conditions.

“Structurally, Ebola viruses consist of three layers; there is the layer with spikes, a lipid membrane envelope and a tubular nuclearcapsid that houses the negative stranded viral genome that controls viral replication,” said Professor Sukati.
She said initially, Ebola is accidentally transmitted to human beings and that happens through direct contact with live or dead animals.

It was gathered that the country, with support from WHO and United Nations Children’s Fund had assembled technical teams and the ministry had also established a toll-free number where members of the public can report suspicious cases. The number to dial is 977.
The Ministry of Health will be visiting the whole country to conduct community dialogues to sensitise people about the virus.

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