Biosafety Expert Praises Malaysian Government, Health Ministry For Ebola Prevention Measures

By Syed Iylia Hariz Al-Qadri Syed Izman KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Washing hands with water and soap and sanitizing regularly are among the simplest ways to prevent the transmission of Ebola virus disease from one person to another. According to Sean G. Kaufman, a biosafety expert, Malaysians should not be worried or afraid of Ebola, as the virus is considered a very fragile virus that can be inactivated (avoid being infected by the virus) through precautionary measures. He said, although Ebola is considered a deadly virus which can be fatal to those who are infected, prevention methods have still proven to be able to barricade the virus from spreading. "Out of all the deadly viruses that exist in this world, Ebola is one of the easiest to be deactivated, Ebola is a lipid-enveloped viruses which means the virus is coated with a protective layer that protects the virus and the layer can be weakened. "... any common household detergent can easily weaken that envelope, and kill the virus," he told Bernama after attending a workshop on bio risk awareness 'Infection Prevention and Control for Ebola Viral Disease Management', here Sunday. The workshop which was organised by the Malaysian Biosafety and Biosecurity Association (MBBA) aims to educate clinical workforce to be fully prepared and manageable if Ebola infected Malaysians. Apart from that, Sean also advised the public to drink a lot of water to enhance the immune system in the body and always be responsible for their health condition. "If you are sick, you need to practice a sense of social responsibility which means that you need to make sure that you don't make other people sick, make sure you take care of yourself because by showing up for work in a sick condition can make other people sick, and besides that you need to stay physically active," he told Bernama. Sean who has more than 20 years' experience on biosafety management began his career as a Health Education Specialist, National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and have been studying biosafety management for deadly viruses such as SARS, Cholera, Anthrax, AIDS and Ebola. Currently he is appointed as Director of Safety Training Programs at the Emory University. He also has published professional publications such as Epidemiologic Investigations and Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax, Surviving Biosafety, and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers: Workforce Preparedness in Hemorrhagic Fevers Outbreak. Sean also praised the Ministry of Health Malaysia and the Malaysian government for taking precautionary measures to prevent the virus from spreading in the country. "I feel Malaysia has done a tremendous job so far, I feel the plans they are developing are very good and will work very well, training on infection prevention and control management is imperative. "Malaysia also needs to remain vigilant to constantly monitor those coming in and out of Malaysia to make sure that they stay healthy at all times," said Sean who was just back from Nigeria a few weeks before and even participated in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Ebola team in West Africa. When asked about the situation in Africa, since the death toll has climbed to more than 2,500 people since February, he said the stigma of the people in Africa who feared the outbreak of the Ebola, has caused the infection to spread and grow exponentially. He said people in Africa who have fever tend to avoid seeking professional treatment and encourage their family to take care of them. "The main reason why Ebola is spreading in Africa is the stigma associated with the disease, what we are dealing with is a public outrage meaning the general public is looking at Ebola and they are very scared, as a result of being afraid they tend to avoid getting help from specialist," he said. He also said, difficulties faced by his team when treating Ebola patients was that the clinical staff in Africa were still not ready to perform a proper procedure to treat Ebola patients and that led to a few staff being infected by the disease. Apart from being the biosafety specialist for the medical team in Africa, Sean was also in charge of leading a medical team in Atlanta last month which took care of two Americans identified with the deadly Ebola virus. Sean was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring doctors, nurses and other staff did everything needed to prevent the virus from escaping from an isolation ward in Atlanta. What you need to know about Ebola facts: - Ebola cannot spread through the air or by water, or in general, food - Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids and tissues of those infected. - The symptoms include high fever (more than 38.6°C or 101.5°F), vomiting, diarrhea, kidney and liver failure. - The virus is believed to be able to survive more than 15 days in liquid outside an infected organism. - Chlorine disinfections, heat, direct sunlight, soaps and detergents can kill the virus. - Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 7 to 10 days. - Recovery from Ebola depends on the patient’s immune response. - Up till now, there is still no vaccine for Ebola. --BERNAMA