Sierra Leone News: US Embassy, CDC & SLAJ on Ebola reporting

Politics

The United States Embassy in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) on Friday engaged the media on their role in ensuring that the people get the correct information about the Ebola disease. The training exercise targetted journalists from the four regions across the country, as vehicles carrying vital information to members of the public nationally and internationally. According to Dr. Austin Demby, a Sierra Leonean who has been working in the US CDC for about 24years now, said, as scientists, they rely on members of the Press, as professionals to pass on medical information in relation to the deadly Ebola to members of the public for consumption, as it is necessary for the media to get information from medical personnel and members of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). He disclosed that the fight against the deadly Ebola disease cannot be done by a single institution or organisation, as it needs collaborative effort from all sectors for it to be defeated, explaining that since the first outbreak of the disease in D.R. Congo in 1976, this year’s outbreak in West Africa is the worst outbreak in the world, as it had killed over three thousand people since the first case was reported in Guinea, explaining that the virus had been existing in animals for a very long time, but the person to person transmission is what they are dealing with at the moment. The Sierra Leonean Scientist, Dr. Demby, maintained that family members should avoid touching sick persons and all the items being used by the affected person, emphasizing the point that the incubation period of the virus inside the human being is 21 days of which between 5 to 7 days is the illness period and severe illness lasts for 1 to 3 days, disclosing that since the virus was discovered, there is no evidence to show that a person can contact the disease twice. As part of preventive measures, Dr. Demby stated that the sick at home should be kept separately to avoid body contact, basic therapy should be given to the sick in form of enough water, adding that supportive care can save lives, disclosing that traditional burial and funeral practice is one of the major way of transmitting the virus, explaining that survivors are safe to move around their environment as they pose no threat, as they can help on Ebola response. Dr. Julius Spencer, the head of Premier Consultancy, disclosed that journalists rely on press releases and workshops to report on Ebola stories, urging journalists to start proper research to build on their knowledge, so that they can report confortably on issues relating to Ebola. Monday October 13, 2014

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