Malawi on alert against Ebola -Ministry of Health
Malawi government through Ministry of Health has said they are working on a budget to contain he deadly contact-borne Ebola virus which has broken out in some African countries.
There have been reports of the outbreak of the deadly disease in Western Africa and in some countries in central Africa.
Ministry of Health spokesperson Henry Chimbali said the budget will also cater for public health awareness campaigns on the disease.
“We are aware that one of the most important actions to take is to educate our public as well as health workers to be able to offer correct information and also be able to recognise the basic signs and symptoms of Ebola,” said Chimbali.
He said there is also need to set aside an additional fund for infection prevention measures for the country’s health workers.
“A team is already working on the budget for these new requirements. The threat for Ebola is real,” he said.
First discovered in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), the Ebola virus was named after the Ebola River where the DR Congo outbreak was found in a nearby village.
There is still no cure for the deadly Ebola virus disease which has an incubation period between two and 21 days and carries a fatality rate of up to 90 percent.
The WHO defines the Ebola virus disease, formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, as “a severe, often fatal illness” and “one of the world’s most virulent diseases.”
