President of the Jamaica Medical Doctor’s Association, Dr. Alfred Dawes, says the Health Ministry must move swiftly to educate the public on the deadly Ebola virus.
His call follows news that a Texas man just back from a trip to West Africa, became the first case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States.
Dr. Dawes says a lack of information could be detrimental to the country.
The unidentified man was critically ill and has been in isolation at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital since Sunday.
His personal details are being withheld.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is assuring the world that the US will contain the spread of the deadly virus.
But Dr. Dawes says the Jamaican authorities must now be on high alert, with the Ebola virus so close to our shores.
Dr. Dawes says an informed public is crucial to any plan to control the spread of Ebola.
On Friday Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Kevin Harvey stressed that Jamaica’s surveillance mechanism was capable of detecting those persons infected with Ebola, seeking to enter the country.
But Dr. Dawes says there’s at least one important machine that the local authorities lack in screening for Ebola.
-30-
