Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Ebola Facts from CDC


General Information on (1) Ebola. and (2) Enterovirus 068

 


For information on Ebola (or Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever). see the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website at
Also see the New Jersey Department of Health FAQs at http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/vhf/documents/ebola fag.pdf.
For information on Enterovirus 068, see the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/aboutlEV-D68.html.
With regard to Enterovirus D68, also see the following fact sheet.
Fact Sheet on Enterovirus D68

For information on Enterovirus 068, see the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/aboutlEV-D68.html.

 With regard to Enterovirus D68, also see the following fact sheet.

Fact Sheet on Enterovirus D68

What are enteroviruses?

• Enteroviruses are very common viruses.

There are over 100 different enteroviruses

 • In the United States, people are more likely to get infected with enteroviruses in the summer and fall.

Cases are likely to decline later in the fall.

 • These are often what cause "summer" colds and "back to school" colds.


What is enterovirus D68?

• Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is one of more than 100 enteroviruses.

This virus (EV-D68) was first identified in California in 1962.

What are the symptoms?

• Just like any other viral upper respiratory illness, EV-D68 can cause mild to severe respiratory illness.

• Mild symptoms may include fever, runny nose, sneezing, cough, and body and muscle aches. • Severe symptoms may include wheezing and difficulty breathing.

 • Anyone with respiratory illness should contact their doctor if they are having difficulty breathing or if their symptoms are getting worse.

How is it transmitted?

• Since EV-D68 causes respiratory illness, the virus can be found in an infected person's respiratory secretions, such as saliva, nasal mucus, or sputum.

• EV-D68 likely spreads from person to person when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or touches a surface that is then touched by others.

How do I protect myself?

You can help prevent yourself from getting and spreading EV-D68 and other respiratory illnesses by following these steps:

 • Wash hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.

 • Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Avoid close contact such as kissing, hugging, and sharing cups or eating utensils with people who are sick.

 • Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or shirt sleeve, not your hands.

 • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, such as toys and doorknobs, especially if someone is sick.

• Stay home when you are sick.

How is it treated?

 • There is no specific treatment for people with respiratory illness caused by EV-D68.

• For mild respiratory illness, you can help relieve symptoms by taking over-the-counter medications for pain and fever. Aspirin should not be given to children.

 • Some people with severe respiratory illness may need to be hospitalized.

 • There are no antiviral medications currently available for people who become infected with EV-D68.

What should people with asthma and children suffering from reactive airway disease do?

Children with asthma are at risk for severe symptoms from EV-D68 and other respiratory illnesses. They should follow CDC's guidance to maintain control of their illness during this time.

CDC recommends:

• Discuss and update your asthma action plan with your primary care provider.

 • Take all your prescribed asthma medications as directed, especially long term control medication(s).

• Be sure to keep your reliever medication with you.

 • Get a flu vaccine when available.

 • If you develop new or worsening asthma symptoms, follow the steps of your asthma action plan. If your symptoms do not go away, call your doctor right away.

• Parents should make sure the child's caregiver and/or teacher is aware of his/her condition, and that they know how to help if the child experiences any symptoms related to asthma.

For additional information on Enterovirus 068, see the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website at http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus!aboutlEV-D68.html

Ebola, previously known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal disease in humans and nonhuman primates (such as monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees).

Ebola is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with a virus of the family Filoviridae, genus Ebolavirus.

There are five identified Ebola virus species, four of which have caused disease in humans:

Ø  Zaire ebola virus;

Ø  Sudan ebola virus;

Ø  Tar Forest ebola virus, formerly Cote d'lvoire ebola virus; and

Ø  Bundibugyo ebola virus.

Ø  The fifth, Reston ebola virus, has caused disease in nonhuman primates but not in humans.

Ebola is found in several African countries.

The first Ebola species was discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Since then, outbreaks have appeared sporadically in Africa.

The natural reservoir host of Ebola remains unknown.

However, on the basis of available evidence and the nature of similar viruses, researchers believe that the virus is animal-borne with bats being the most likely reservoir.

Four of the five subtypes occur in an animal host native to Africa.

Transmission Because the natural reservoir host of Ebola has not yet been identified, the manner by which the virus first appears in a human at the start of an outbreak is unknown. However, researchers believe that the first patient becomes infected through contact with an infected animal.

 When an infection does occur in humans, there are several ways the virus can be spread to others.
These include:

• direct contact with the blood or body fluids (including but not limited to feces, saliva, urine, vomit and semen) of a person who is sick with Ebola

• contact with objects (like needles and syringes) that have been contaminated with the blood or body fluids of an infected person or with infected animals

The virus in the blood and body fluids can enter another person's body through broken skin or unprotected mucous membranes in, for example, the eyes, nose, or mouth.

The viruses that cause Ebola are often spread among families and friends, because they come in close contact with blood or body fluids when caring for ill persons.

During outbreaks of Ebola, the disease can spread quickly within healthcare settings, such as clinics or hospitals.

Exposure to Ebola can occur in healthcare settings where hospital staff are not wearing appropriate protective clothing including masks, gowns, gloves, and eye protection.

Dedicated medical equipment (preferably disposable, when possible) should be used by healthcare personnel providing care for someone sick with Ebola.

Proper cleaning and disposal of instruments, such as needles and syringes, is also important. If instruments are not disposable, they must be sterilized before being used again.

Without adequate instrument sterilization, virus transmission can continue and amplify an outbreak.

 Signs and Symptoms A person infected with Ebola is not contagious until symptoms appear.

Signs and Symptoms of Ebola typically include:

• Fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)

 • Severe headache

 • Muscle pain

 • Vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Stomach pain

 • Unexplained bleeding or bruising

Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola but the average is 8 to 10 days.

Recovery from Ebola depends on the patient's immune response.

People who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years.

Risk of Exposure

Ebola is found in several African countries. Since 1976, Ebola outbreaks have occurred in the following countries:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

 • South Africa (imported)

 • Gabon

• Guinea

• South Sudan

 • Liberia

• Ivory Coast

 • Sierra Leone

 • Uganda

• Senegal

• Republic of the Congo (ROC)

 • Nigeria

Because the natural reservoir host of Ebola, and the manner in which transmission of the virus to humans remain unknown, risk assessment in endemic areas is difficult.

During outbreaks of Ebola, those at highest risk include healthcare workers and the family and friends of a person infected with Ebola.

Healthcare workers in Africa should consult the Infection Control for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers In the African Health Care Setting to learn how to prevent and control infections in these settings.

 Medical professionals in the United States should consult the Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Hospitalized Patients with Known or Suspected Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in U.S. Hospitals.

 Diagnosis

Diagnosing Ebola in a person who has been infected for only a few days is difficult because the early symptoms, such as fever, are not specific to Ebola infection and are seen often in patients with more commonly occurring diseases, such as malaria and typhoid fever.

However, if a person has symptoms of Ebola and had contact with blood or body fluids of a person sick with Ebola, contact with objects that have been contaminated with blood or body fluids of a person sick with Ebola or contact with infected animals, the patient should be isolated and public health professionals notified.

Samples from the patient can then be collected and tested to confirm infection.

Laboratory tests used in diagnosis include

Timeline of Infection Diagnostic tests available

Within a few days after symptoms begin

 - Antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing

-lgM ELISA

- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) - Virus isolation

 Later in disease course or after recovery

- IgM and IgG antibodies

Retrospectively in deceased patients

- Immunohistochemistry testing

-PCR

- Virus isolation

Treatment

Currently there are no specific vaccines or medicines (such as antiviral drug) that have been proven to be effective against Ebola.

Symptoms of Ebola are treated as they appear.

The following basic interventions, when used early, can significantly improve the chances of survival:

• Providing intravenous(IV) fluids and balancing electrolytes (body salts)

 • Maintaining oxygen status and blood pressure

• Treating other infections if they occur

Timely treatment of Ebola is important but challenging since the disease is difficult to diagnose clinically in the early stages of infection.

 Because early symptoms such as headache and fever are not specific to Ebola viruses, cases of Ebola may be initially misdiagnosed.

However, if a person has symptoms of Ebola and had contact with blood or body fluids of a person sick with Ebola, contact with objects that have been contaminated with blood or body fluids of a person sick with Ebola, or contact with an infected animal, the patient should be isolated and public health professionals notified.

Supportive therapy can continue with proper protective clothing until samples from the patient are tested to confirm infection.

Experimental treatment has been tested and proven effective in some animals but has not yet been evaluated in humans.

Prevention

When cases of the disease do appear, there is increased risk of transmission within healthcare settings.

Therefore, healthcare workers must be able to recognize a case of Ebola and be ready to use appropriate infection control measures.

The aim of these techniques is to avoid contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected patient.

Appropriate procedures include:

• isolation of patients with Ebola from contact with unprotected persons

• wearing of protective clothing (including masks, gloves, impermeable gowns, and goggles or face shields) by persons caring for Ebola patients

• the use of other infection-control measures (such as complete equipment sterilization and routine use of disinfectant)

 • Avoid touching the bodies of patients who have died from Ebola

Healthcare workers should also have the capability to request diagnostic tests or prepare samples for shipping and testing elsewhere.

CDC, in conjunction with the World Health Organization, has developed a set of guidelines to help prevent and control the spread of Ebola.

Entitled Infection Control for Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers In the African Health Care Setting, the manual describes how to:

• recognize cases of viral hemorrhagic fever

 • prevent further transmission in health care setting by using locally available materials and minimal financial resources.

 

Provided  courtesy of Mr. Frank Ossai and Dr. Anthony Esumei ( Adapted from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website at


 
Ndoni National Association USA thank and congratulate Nigeria for containing the Ebola

menace in Nigeria. What an achievement in the fragile Nigerian Health sector. Should we say

hope restored. May it continue to be so.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Nigerian Independence Celebration

The Executive Officers and Members of the Ndoni National Association celebrate with all Nigerians on the occasion of the 54th Independence of Nigeria.
Please click the link below to watch the celebration in New York, although we do not endorse all the dance moves depicted here.







Long live Nigeria.

Ndoni National Association
Dr. Anthony Esumei (President)
Mr. Frank Ossai (Secretary)

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Displaying Ndoni's Cultural Heritage


Ndoni is a fast growing town in the oil rich Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni  Local Government
 


Area of Rivers State in Nigeria.

Ndoni was formerly referred to as Ebuaga London, Ndoni London.

Currently, people call it the City of God.

The town has lived up to its name .
 
You will need to visit Ndoni to see the development that has started.
 
 The light has been lighted that cannot be extinguished.

The people of Ndoni are great farmers and fishermen with a rich cultural history.

Have a taste of the cultural heritage

 

Starting a Journey


 
History was made today when sons and daughters of Ndoni heritage residing in USA formally inaugurated the Ndoni National Association (USA).


MISSION STATEMENT

To foster unity among all people of Ndoni heritage and strengthening our community through the advancement of Education, Culture, Human Services and Healthcare

OBJECTIVE

(1) To improve the economic, social and general welfare of Ndoni indigenes and associates both at home and in the United States.

(2) To promote, encourage and foster unity at all times among Ndoni indigenes and Associates.

(3) To cooperate with and support bona-fide Nigerian Associations in the United States of America and encourage members of the Association to join Nigerian Associations and participate in promoting the interest of Nigeria both at the homeland and abroad.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership of the Association shall be open to all sons and daughters of Ndoni as well as others who have relationships with Ndoni.
 
You are all welcomed to join this association
.
Watch out for the next blog about the Elected officers of the Association
 
Long Live Ndoni
 
Long live Ndoni National Association (USA)
 
Dr. Anthony Esumei