Public health practitioner and former Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr Janet Ekpenyong, has urged Nigerians to maintain proper personal and environmental hygiene as a key measure to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Dr Ekpenyong made the call while speaking on the Silverbird Breakfast Show on Monday, expressing concern over the reported number of people currently under surveillance for the deadly Ebola virus disease, as the disease exposes how easy it is for infection to cross borders and the challenges faced by global health systems.
She explained that Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the blood and other bodily fluids of an infected person or contaminated materials, stressing the need for strict adherence to preventive measures to minimize the risk of infection, especially in state with reported case already.
The former commissioner called on operators of public facilities and other places of public interest to provide functional handwashing stations and encourage appropriate hand hygiene practices to promote healthy living and prevent the spread of infectious diseases, as well as the use of hand sanitizers.
She also emphasized the importance of healthcare workers adhering strictly to infection prevention and control protocols, particularly the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) when attending to patients.
According to her, intensive surveillance and screening at every point of entry remains essential to preventing the importation and potential spread of infectious diseases from countries with confirmed cases. She urged relevant authorities to strengthen monitoring, intensify contact tracing of suspected people who may have been exposed, as part of efforts to safeguard public health.
Dr Ekpenyong further cautioned Nigerians against spreading false information about the Ebola disease, advising the public to rely on credible health information from official Government channels and seek professional medical attention whenever they experience symptoms of illness rather than resorting to self-medication.
She also called on authorities to invest more in the training and retraining of healthcare workers to ensure they remain up to date with standard management of emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases.
She expressed confidence that, with the activation and strengthening of the emergency Operation pillars, including case management where the
isolation Centres are set up, adequate sensitization, proper Infection prevention and control, quality laboratory services and strict point of entry protocol, the disease will be well managed to avoid a pandemic.
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