THE Ministry of Health has advised the public against unnecessary handshakes in the wake of an outbreak of Ebola in West Africa.
Ministry of Health acting spokesperson Denis Mulenga said in a statement yesterday that although Zambia has not recorded any outbreak of Ebola, Government has remained vigilant and put in place stringent measures.
The disease has so far claimed 1,300 lives in Liberia, Nigeria, Serra-Leone and Guinea.
“People must avoid unnecessary physical contact and must always wash hands with soap before eating any food,” Dr Mulenga said.
He said Government has put in place necessary precautions and continued to monitor the situation.
“People do not need to panic. The Ministry of Health has put measures in place and the country has the capacity to handle the Edola virus through the University of Zambia School of Veterinary Medicine,” Dr Mulenga said.
He further said Government has bought protective gear which is being distributed countrywide.
These include rubber boots, rubber gloves, rubber hoods, water tight and airproof suits.
And Central Province has been put on high Ebola alert because it among the provinces sharing a border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The first case of Ebola was recorded in DRC in 1976.
In 2012, the DRC recorded 36 deaths from Ebola in the country’s Orientale Province that lies in the northeast of the country on the border with Uganda, South Sudan and Central Africa Republic.
“Furthermore, Central Province is the nexus of all routes into Zambia, hence this sets us apart from other provinces and requires us to be innovative in the manner in which we should be prepared,” Ms Mutale said.
Central Province chief medical officer Rosemary Mwanza appealed to people in the region not to panic because there is no case of Ebola.
Zambians will not manage to get by without handshakes it’s an inborn thing.
At my son’s school the kids greet each other by flashing a “V” sign for piece. Hand shaking is a very unhygienic practice….let us avoid it…esp PF cadres
Zambians seat on top of one another on public transport like mini buses and “chimbayambaya” avoiding a handshake alone will not help prevent the spreading of EBOLA.
A hug is a handshake from the heart.
—Author Unknown
We shoul all just start wearing tight plastic cl8thins overall our bodies with intensive sprays ivthink that way the virus can be defected. So environmental suffers, mulungushi textiles start manufacturing plastic cloths for all. Job done
Especially the LOZIs, I hope u have read this. For now you should put on hold that tradition – KUTUBETA (kissing each other on the palms). This is risky and I hope u will put aside ur stubbonness and pride.
only unnecessary handshakes? so people can still engage on necessary handshakes?
There is need for us to go beyond just minimizing hand-shakes. What about the exchange of money, personnel who sell food stuffs. The list is endless.
I have always been averse to handshakes and have tried to fist bump as much as possible. People do NASTY things with their fingers. Those deep-probing a$$ crack scratches and the famous ‘shove every finger up my nose trills’ are a talent most Zambians possess. But at least we are cleaner than our Somalian Folk. These are people who wash their face, gurgle and spit back in a dish and then pass the dish to the next person. Bad stuff!
Also Cholera/worms and other gastric bugs are spread by people washing their hands from the same vessell before a pap/nshima/akabwali.
Let’s put everything in god’s hands ibola iz a dimon sent by satan.
Ridiculous. Read up on Ebola. It is spread by contact with infected bodily fluids and probably aerosols depending on proximity. This statement only serves to isolate and panic people. Hand washing would be a better message. What is needed is dissemination of information, banning unregulated meats (particularly from the north), cleanliness/effective hand washing and better monitoring at the borders (again particularly from the north). Health mentioned PPE but what about isolation facilities, contingencies for disposal of contaminated products, mortuary contigencies and isolation itself I.e. negative pressure rooms/wards. And why the Vet dept ? What about the Medical departments? These types of contigencies and resilience strategies should already exist for a Health Ministry. Come on people.
I’ll tell why cholera spread so quickly….because when a whole family washes their hands in the same bowl before nshima/akabwali (love it by the way). So the last person to wash their hands gets everyones bugs and the first ones give everyone else theirs. Ebola is a different ball game.
YABA SO TREAT EVERYBODY AS A MPONGOZI. BUT WHAT ABOUT WHEN doing what men and women like doing , one has to put the instrument from behind and no touching, what of those men with short arsenals??