Environmental degradation and wanton destruction of forests are igniting the emergence of zoonotic diseases like Ebola, Rabies, Yellow Fever, Avian Influenza and most recently Covid19.
Public Health Specialist, Dr. Ahmed Ogwell says human life is linked to the environment, and continued destruction of the ecosystem spells doom for mankind.
“When humans interact with the forested areas and therefore come into close proximity with the animals who are the reservoirs for the Ebola virus, it means that the risk of the virus getting out of the animal population into the human population also increases,” says Dr. Ogwell who is also the former Deputy Director of AfricaCDC.
“All activities around increasing the interaction between the human population and the animal population will increase the risk of the virus getting into the human population,” he adds.
This is compounded by the diminishing ecological balance, driven by human activities like habitat destruction, overexploitation, and pollution, and as humans clear large tracts of forested land for settlement and agriculture to feed the growing population.
Dr. Ogwell is urging governments to reduce human interaction with forested areas and avoid disrupting ecosystems, while investing in capacity building for both healthcare systems and healthcare personnel to detect and contain disease outbreaks before they spread to larger areas.
“Every exposure that a health system has to a new health challenge is an opportunity to build capacity. In this particular Ebola outbreak, this time, and with the interest that has been shown by Kenya as a country, it is an opportunity for the country to be able to build its capacity.” says Dr. Ogwell
He avers that Kenya needs to make deliberate efforts to train health workers on response to outbreaks like Ebola.
“And they will be better prepared in knowing how it looks like, how you handle it, how you manage it, the protocols that are related to managing an Ebola patient, and all the related equipment, material, health products that will be needed in managing a patient,” he notes
According to Dr. Ogwell, strategic communication instead of half-truths on social media will help reduce public anxiety, he says, noting that half-truths being peddled create panic and that panic is resulting in wrong decisions and those wrong decisions can make the risk even higher.
“So, for the public, get your information from the right sources. For the country in general, preparation is what makes an outbreak short-lived,” he says
He is calling for a One Health approach, where animal health, human health and the environment work together, saying this can reduce interaction which animals hosts that hold zoonotic disease.
“All the surveillance mechanisms from all the three areas are overlaid with each other and the country can be able to be assessing its preparedness using data from all three different sectors.”
