Do you have confidence in India's ability to contain Ebola?
Do you have confidence in India's ability to contain Ebola?
Ebola has become an epidemic in West Africa. It is getting out of control and is spreading exponentially which is dangerous for other countries too. If the outbreak continues, it can affect hundreds and thousands of people. As of now, more than 2,400 people have died and the death toll is set to rise in coming days. The WHO has declared disease as a “public health emergency of international concern.” For a disease which has no licensed vaccine or specific treatment, what is the plan of India to contain the disease? Health Minster Harsh Vardhan said that the government is taking all necessary precautions and there is no reason to panic. Do you have confidence in India's ability to contain Ebola?
Yes
• Airports are put on high alerts after outbreak of disease. The health ministry has instructed to keep a close watch on the people coming from the affected countries.
• Ministry has already issued mandatory self reporting by the travelers at immigration check. Remember, precaution and preventions are the first steps to contain a disease.
• Coming to medicines, as of now there is no licensed medication or vaccine for Ebola, and therefore, the focus will remain on preventive measures that can be carried out effectively in India.
• The best Indian government can do it to stop the importation of the virus into country, and even if it happens, the authorities should isolate and quarantine infected patient. India is well prepared for this.
• The health ministry has prepared a specialized nodal centre at the RML Hospital to quarantine infected patients.
• Also, India has National Institute of Virology and the National Centre for Disease Control. So nation is well equipped.
No
• Awareness is the key to prevent outbreak of major disease, and still India has not started with any special programs to create awareness about disease among local people.
• The developed countries like the United States don’t have effective measures to contain Ebola. So, how do you expect India to do that?
• Ebola thrives in the places where there is lack of hygiene, and everyone is well aware about the existing hygiene conditions in India.
• In a country like India, people have not been exposed to Ebola virus earlier and therefore, their body doesn’t possess immunity against it.
• India is a populous country where the illiteracy rate is high, and therefore it will not be easy for the government to contain Ebola virus.
Conclusion
There is no licensed medication available for Ebola virus. None of the vaccines are available for clinical use. In such a case, raising awareness about the disease is the finest way to contain disease. The government has taken the best bet and that is prevention. However, the government should speed up its prevention plans so that people are educated well and they get acquainted with the preventive measures before the virus reaches India.
Discussion
- RE: Do you have confidence in India's ability to contain Ebola? -Deepa Kaushik (09/20/14)
- Indian Government has done half the part of their duty that is prevention of the disease, but at the same time spreading awareness of the disease is equally important. Regarding the quarantine programmes and India’s ability in controlling the diseases with their medical equipment and facilities cannot be doubted for. But, as the curative medications or vaccines is not licenced yet, we cannot project our infrastructure and medical facilities for the Ebola prevention.
With the lack of licenced medications and vaccines, just portraying our good equipment and better hands on the medical field will be a fake display, which could not help our people in any way. the only means by which we can help out right now is spreading awareness amongst the masses. As the hygiene status is India could be well understood, we cannot stay relaxed just by strict surveillance at the airports for the immigrants and travellers. We need to work out a lot over this.
Spreading awareness in the lower socio-economic strata and the rural illiterate sector is the must. The hygienic condition is not only the responsibility of the citizens but also the government. The government needs to check out for the proper hygienic condition in the public places which is more of the responsibility of the municipal corporations and related offices. These personnel need to be hooked up by the government to maintain the clean atmosphere round the city.
To be precise, this topic is more regarding going out and working in the field to spread awareness, rather than having a debate and discussion on the same. It is not just the Government but the responsibility of every learned citizen to spread awareness among the masses and extend our hands in maintaining hygiene around the country.
