Tag Archives: ebola

The Ebola crisis – we need to hear about the heroes

By Jamie Dalzell | Sun 30th October 2016 - 9:25 am

Two years ago, I was quarantined. Following a trip to Nigeria (and the privilege of working with the DFID funded ESSPIN programme), I returned feeling a little unwell and, before I knew it, people in biohazard suits were bundling me into an ambulance. Fortunately it was not Ebola and, in fact, just a slightly embarrassing case of man-flu. However, I was still extremely grateful for a responsive NHS keeping me safe.

At the time, the Ebola epidemic was a terrifying prospect with a wide range of possible outcomes. One of the worst scenarios I heard was that the largest annual gathering of people in the world, two million Muslims (including many from West Africa) attending the Hajj, could have become a focal point for a sudden and rapid spread of this deadly disease.

Fortunately, this did not happen and we have been blessed to see the Ebola epidemic contained, controlled and eradicated, with the MSF closing their final projects (supporting survivors) earlier this month. We were lucky, but it was not by chance that a pandemic was prevented; it was due to the bravery, commitment and skill of the medics and military who risked their own lives to prevent a disaster.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged international | 1 Comment

Sarah Teather slams “irrational selfish scare stories” over nurse with Ebola

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 30th December 2014 - 11:52 am

I was furious last night when I saw some social media posts from people who should know better complaining that the nurse now being treated in London for Ebola was let back into the country. Some of them calmed down a bit when you explained that it would have been impossible for anyone to catch Ebola when she was showing no symptoms on the flight. In fact, it would have been pretty darned hard, involving more intimacy than is usual with complete strangers on a flight, even if she had started to develop a fever during the journey.

People were asking why those travelling back from West Africa shouldn’t be quarantined to make sure that they were disease free, despite all the evidence that this would be a costly waste of resource.