Medical staff can beat Ebola with more drugs and better health education
I AM working with medical staff in the West African country of Sierra Leone, where the people have never experienced an outbreak of Ebola on this scale before. There are a lot of cases – we are really stretched – and my worry is that those we are seeing are the tip of the iceberg. To put things in perspective, in just one village between 40 and 50 cases have been reported. In neighbouring Guinea, where the outbreak began, we would see a similar number in an entire district.
Sadly, at the moment a lot of our work is dealing with dead bodies. But we are also training local healthcare workers and reaching out to communities to try to slow the spread of the virus.
Fear is a big problem. People are really afraid when they see us in our protective suits – who wouldn't be? The suits make it difficult to connect with our patients. Part of your training as a medical professional is to provide a sense of security to those you're trying to help, but the layers of plastic we have to wear make that difficult – only your eyes show. I'm at an extra disadvantage because I don't speak the local language, but I try to do all that I can to connect with patients by giving them a gentle touch or hug.
I try to show the local healthcare workers that it is safe for them to do the same, but many of them are very scared of getting Ebola, and understandably so – some have already died.
Denial is yet another barrier we are trying to tackle. There are still a lot of people in the region who don't believe that Ebola exists.
Even in the midst of so much sadness, there are positive moments. In Guinea, we had a patient in the isolation unit who was always trying to help us. He said he thought we were angels sent from heaven to save him – he was so appreciative of what we were doing. It is experiences like this that keep us going.
I think that, with more sick people coming to our treatment centres rather than staying in the community and risking spreading the virus, and with continued education, we will see a big change in the situation. With enough centres, medication, educated people and support, we can turn this epidemic around.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Healing touch"
Anja Wolz is an emergency coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières, which now has 300 staff in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia
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