The coast is clear in Nigeria for now. Apparently the battle to contain the Ebola Virus Disease is now mainly in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Recently, a doctor died from Ebola, making him the 5th local doctor to die of the virus in Sierra Leone.
In the United States, nurse Nina Pham, who was diagnosed with Ebola, has now fully recovered and has been discharged. Interestingly, her dog never contracted the disease.
According to CNN, patient zero for Ebola has been identified. Patient zero is a person who the outbreak of a particular disease is believed to have originated from, and in this case, a 2-year-old from a village in Guinea is currently believed to have started the outbreak. Research into her family shows a string of transfer of the virus through the usual channels of close contact with infected and/or dead Ebola victims.
It is still yet to be determined how the child contracted Ebola in the first place, since the virus is transmitted from fruit bats and chimpanzees. One is left to wonder if the child came in contact with such animals either through eating them in a cooked meal, or eating an animal’s leftovers.
While we wait to have clear answers to the origin of the current outbreak of Ebola, it is important to remember to stay away from the consumption of fruit bats and bush meat and also keep a clean environment and wash our hands regularly.
About the author: Amina Salau is a writer and editor running The Illuminated Pen. You can find her online at www.theilluminatedpen.com and on Twitter (@_Aminah)