By Bampia James Bundu
The National Programme Manager in the ministry of health has warned Sierra Leoneans to be cautious about the use of hand sanitizer as "it does not prevent contact with the Ebola disease because the virus is too strong and dangerous to be constrained by a hand sanitizer”.
Lansana Conteh gave the warning while speaking at a day’s orientation workshop organised by the ministry and the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists. He said to be safe, people must not contact infected people and that reports should be made, without delay, if any sign of Ebola was observed.
Conteh explained that the symptoms of the disease ranged from prolonged high fever, abdominal and general body pain especially in the chest, difficulty in swallowing, headache, nausea, vomiting of blood, diarrhoea and bleeding.
He commended SLAJ for supporting the ministry to ensure the nationwide orientation workshop for journalists in the three provinces and in Freetown. He pleaded with journalist to serve as ambassadors in educating the general public about the dangers of the Ebola disease.
SLAJ president, Kelvin Lewis, described the training as "timely and educative" , saying it would give journalists the knowledge required to effectively and accurately report on issues bordering on the outbreak.
He praised the ministry for engaging the media in the training as it would enable them understand how to handle such cases. He said the disease was an "attack on us all" because a journalist had already died of the disease in Daru. "We must use our pens and microphones to kick Ebola out of Sierra Leone and save our people from this deadly disease" , he said.
WHO Representative, Aminata Kobla said "Ebola is real and is in Sierra Leone" and added her voice in pleading with the media to join the ministry in sensitising the general public “effectively and with the correct message”.
(C) Politico 17/07/14
