海角大神

While Nigerian officials work to prevent what could be a potential outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa's most populous country, some aid workers fear national and international health agencies are not prepared for the worst.

Yet with only one reported case, which may have been contained, some Nigerians object to the panic, saying it鈥檚 bad press for Nigeria鈥檚 financial capital and largest city, Lagos.

"My only worry has been the media is blowing this out of proportion,鈥� says Bolaje Alonje, a 30-something artist and activist in Lagos.聽聽鈥淭here's a kind of romance with Nigeria and [with] bad news.聽Are we making Nigeria鈥�from a Boko Haram country to a[n] Ebola country?"

Until last week, Boko Haram insurgents dominated international news about Nigeria. But when Patrick Sawyer, a civil servant from Liberia, died of Ebola in a Lagos hospital last Friday, officials and health experts were immediately alarmed, fearing Ebola may have spread into the crowded, chaotic urban zone of 21 million.聽The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has caused alarm, with more than 1,200 cases in four countries, resulting in at least 670 deaths.

鈥淣igeria is not like any other West African country,鈥� said Dr. Unni Krishnan, Plan International鈥檚 head of disaster response and preparedness, referring to its population density. 鈥淭he government needs to act quickly.鈥�

The Nigerian government is currently working to identify every person that came into contact with Mr. Sawyer as he traveled to from Liberia to Nigeria en route to Minnesota.聽聽His plane stopped in Ghana and again in Togo, where he debarked and went on to Lagos, according to Lagos State Heath Commissioner Jide Idris.

So far, 59 people, including Nigeria鈥檚 ambassador to Liberia, have been identified as having contact with Sawyer and none have shown signs of Ebola, raising hopes that the disease may not have spread.

But finding all those other people, some potentially in Ghana or Togo, is no small task, 聽Mr. Idris told reporters Monday.聽

鈥淭he airline manifest has not been provided by the airline at the time of this report,鈥� Idris says. 鈥淭herefore the precise number of passenger contacts has yet to be ascertained.鈥�

Ebola can take from two days to three weeks to present symptoms, so potential victims are being monitored carefully, he said.

But Ebola is not transmitted casually, according to the World Health Organization.聽The virus is contracted via infected animals and transmitted through bodily fluids, like blood, vomit, or sweat.聽聽It can also be transmitted through objects, like contaminated linens or needles.

The disease is feared since in some outbreaks up to 90 percent of those infected have died. But the death rate in the recent outbreak in West Africa is just over 60 percent.聽Nearly 700 people have died since an outbreak began in February, spreading from Guinea to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

There is no known cure for Ebola, but doctors say that with early detection they can sometimes mitigate the worst.

Health workers also can offer some badly-needed mental support while patients fight the disease, according to Dr. Lance Plyler, who heads the Ebola medical efforts in Liberia for aid group Samaritan's Purse.聽鈥淭hey are quarantined so they are susceptible to depression,鈥� he says.

The Nigerian government says it is currently screening people as they enter the country, raising awareness about disease prevention and preparing an isolation unit and an "emergency command center鈥� in case of an outbreak.

Efforts to screen people as they cross borders can be useful, but pose challenges, according to Yan St. Pierre, the CEO of Berlin-based security firm MOSECON.聽 For instance, at its onset, Ebola looks a lot like more common diseases.

鈥淔ocusing on airports,鈥� he added, 鈥渋s also a poor solution because most people travel by bus or other means.鈥�

Many Nigerians are nervous because the nation鈥檚 doctors have been on strike for nearly a month, with some in the medical establishment saying the Nigerian healthcare system is in a state of near-collapse.

However, much of the present fear is less about an Ebola outbreak than it is of cholera, which infected 200 people last week and killed five 鈥� or of malaria, which kills hundreds of thousands of Nigerians a year.