SAMMY JULIAN
ON the felicitous and joyous occasion of your natal day on Aug. 21, Don Alfonso Tan, kindly allow us, on behalf of Panay News staff, to extend to you our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for a happy birthday, and many, many more prosperous years to come. We pray that the Almighty continue bestowing the requisite health and wisdom upon you.
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Optimism now runs high that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa will soon be contained and eradicated, following reports from clinicians working in Liberia that two doctors and one nurse infected by the dreaded virus have received the experimental therapy, ZMapp. The nurse and one of the doctors have shown a marked improvement, while the condition of the second doctor is still serious but has improved somewhat.
ZMapp is one of several experimental treatments and vaccines for Ebola that are currently undergoing investigation. At present, supplies of all are extremely limited.
Also, as expected, the international community is standing up in an effort to put an end to the spread of the deadly virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently announced that it will host in Geneva on Sept. 4 to 5 a consultation on potential Ebola treatment by gathering expertise about the most promising experimental therapies and their role in containing the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, where the official number of cases in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone have reached 2,473 and the number of deaths 1,350.
The expertise among the more than 100 participants, including 20 experts from affected West African countries, will discuss issues of safety and efficacy, as well as innovative models for expediting clinical trials, according to the WHO. Possible ways to ramp up production of the most promising products will also be explored.
In an article from The New England Journal of Medicine titled, “Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa—No Early End to the Outbreak,” WHO director general Dr. Margaret Chan outlined the many challenges to be overcome in the worst outbreak in the nearly four-decade history of this disease. She said, “With the formidable combination of poverty, dysfunctional health systems and fear at work, no one is talking about an early end to the outbreak.”
Thus, Chan stressed, the international community “will need to gear up for many more months of massive, coordinated and targeted assistance.”
Through strong community involvement, various initiatives are starting to emerge.
One shining example of the importance of raising awareness about the virus is the so-called Ebola Rap written by a Liberian artist and endorsed by the United Nations.
“Take away the fear, don’t hide yourself. People can still survive from Ebola,” say the song’s lyrics.
Now, to support the fight against Ebola, our colleagues in the media industry could also help in disseminating information on Ebola prevention and response.
Truly, education and communication are crucial to make sure that everyone — health workers and the general public — understands what Ebola is, how it is transmitted and how they can protect themselves.
We only have to emphasize the need for a massive, coordinated and targeted assistance to countries affected by the dreaded Ebola virus.
In the words of the WHO director general, “A humane world cannot let the people of West Africa suffer on such an extraordinary scale.”/PN
