Ebola and the new school year

Primary and secondary school chil­dren in the country are now back in their schools following the ex­tension of their end-of-session holiday by some weeks on account of the Ebora Virus Disease (EVD) that was brought into the country from Liberia on July 20. A new school year should have taken off on September 22, but the Eb­ola problem and the need to put strate­gies in place to keep it out of the nation’s schools, forced the authorities to order an extension of the children’s holiday, which has now elapsed.

Now that pupils are back in school in virtually all the states in the country, Ni­geria must not forget the lessons of the Ebola saga. These include the need for vigilance and close monitoring of chil­dren to ensure that anyone showing symptoms of the infection is handled in line with the guidelines given to the schools by the relevant authorities.
It is heartening that some states, such as Lagos, have been reported to have distributed sanitary wares such as buck­ets, water tanks, soap and gloves to their schools, prior to the resumption date. Enlightenment materials such as post­ers, handbills and instructional Compact Discs (CDs) and handouts on Ebola dis­ease prevention and hand washing, were also reportedly distributed to schools. Teachers and focal persons were said to have been trained on EVD prevention, while thermoscans, (hand-held non-con­tact thermometers for measuring body temperature) were also provided. Lagos State also plans to include a hand wash­ing class in the school curricular to teach children the importance and techniques of hand washing. This is to encourage the culture of frequent hand washing to prevent spread of infections among chil­dren. Schools have also been mobilised to ensure supply of water.
We commend these initiatives of the Lagos State government to all the states in the country. This is the time for re­newed focus on hygiene in schools. Hy­giene and Nature Study was a popular subject in the primary school curriculum many years ago, and it helped to incul­cate several healthy habits in children, and also gave them the necessary early education on their natural environment. Let us bring back Hygiene and Nature Study as an independent subject in pri­mary schools. This is because children, because of their playful and undiscrimi­nating nature, are vulnerable to infec­tions.
Although Nigeria no longer has Ebola patients and is well on the way to being declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO) sometime next week, the actual fact is that our country remains at risk. This is more so as Ebola has found a strong foothold in three Afri­can countries, and has become endemic in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The WHO also recently warned that there may be 10,000 new Ebola cases every week, from December 2014, as a total of about 1000 new cases are now being reported weekly in the affected country. This dis­tressing outlook shows that, given the ease of international travel, no part of Africa, or indeed, the whole world, can be said to be totally free of risk from the deadly disease.
This worrisome situation calls for eter­nal vigilance and the institution of strate­gies to keep the virus out of Nigeria, in general, and our schools, in particular. Schoolchildren are particularly at risk because they cannot be responsible for their own hygiene. It has, therefore, be­come necessary for all levels of govern­ments and schools to devise strategies to safeguard pupils. Schools, including crèches and kindergartens, must have adequate number of child-minders and also develop a system of basic medical checks for their pupils. Parents must also be ready to spend more money to keep their children clean and safe. All hands must be on deck to teach children life-long healthy habits like frequent washing of their hands and avoidance of the body fluids of others.
This will go a long way in the control of not only Ebola, but all infectious diseas­es. Nigerians must not become compla­cent simply because we no longer have Ebola patients in the country. The dis­ease remains a terror to mankind, espe­cially in the face of the recent affirmation by the WHO that the death rate in this Ebola outbreak has risen to 70 per cent, with 4,447 people already dead from the infection.
Experts have also warned that the virus could also mutate and become airborne, and may then be contracted by breathing it in. These developments indicate that Nigeria must not become complacent on the Ebola infection as long as it remains anywhere in the world. Instead, we must develop effective mechanisms for pro­tecting ourselves and our children from it.
If schools are to encourage children to wash their hands frequently, it means there must be enough water. Let water be made available in all schools. This is something the government should be able to do. Schools should also make provisions for isolation bays, be alert to all signs of illnesses in their pupils, and report all suspected cases to the appro­priate authorities. All hands must be on deck to keep Ebola out of our schools.
Above all, Nigerian scientists must not relent in the search for a vaccine and a cure for the Ebola Virus.
(The Sun)