Ebola: No more checks in schools

Visits to schools show a relapse in measures against the prevention of the Ebola Virus Disease, writes Folashade Adebayo

A major lesson from the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak is the importance of handwashing and personal hygiene. In spite of the certification by the World Health Organisation which has effectively declared Nigeria free of the virus, experts have relentlessly urged individuals, schools, groups and organisations to keep up vigilance against the virus.

But checks by our correspondent in Ogun and Lagos states have revealed that many schools may have jettisoned the rituals of hand washing and temperature monitoring barely five months after the first Ebola case was reported in the country.

While Nigeria and Senegal may have seen the end of the virus, there is no slowing down in neighbouring Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. A sixth country in West Africa, Mali, recently announced its first cases and several contacts. According to the WHO, the virus has killed more than 6,000 people out of 17,000 reported cases mainly in West Africa.

At the height of the outbreak which occurred during the long term break for primary and secondary schools, resumption had been a major issue which pitted the Nigerian Union of Teachers against the Federal Government. The leadership of the organisation had insisted on the provision of infra red thermometers, sanitisers, wash hand basins and soaps, among other materials before schools could resume.

But while these equipment had been distributed across a good number of private and public secondary schools in the country, it appears lethargy has set in in schools monitored by our correspondent. Though two washing points near the entrance are immediately noticeable, pupils did not make use of it as they entered the Frontliners School, Ijaiye, Lagos state, on Thursday.

As parents dropped their children, they moved straight to the Assembly ground to start the day. Our correspondent too was neither checked for temperature nor told to wash her hands at the washing points. But the Head of Schools, Mr. Dayo Ogunmoku, reprimanded the security guard for the slack.

“She has been doing it but I admit she has not done it this week. Many schools are relaxing but we cannot afford to do that, at least this year. Nobody knows when the next Patrick Sawyer will appear. This is Ebola year and we still have medical volunteers in the affected countries. We don’t know their movement pattern. Yes, the relaxation has been gradual but we cannot afford to let down our guards,’’ he said.

Attempts to see the principal, African College Model College, Ogba, Lagos, on Thursday were abortive as his secretary said he could not attend to visitors until noon. Again, there were neither temperature checks at the gate or washing points in sight. It was the same scenario at the Local Government Nursery and Primary School, Keke-Agege, Lagos, where two washing points were seen but not put to use. In the premises, two male pupils, who could not be more than seven years old, rushed to empty the bin with their bare hands. They rushed back excitedly with the small bin to their classrooms, But the headmistress, citing civil service rules, also declined to speak with our correspondent.

At the Ijaiye Ojokoro Senior Model College, Ijaiye, there were no temperature checks although washing points were seen around the premises which houses four schools. The old security officer allowed our correspondent in without much ado. Approached for comments, a principal of one of the schools, identified by his name tag as Mr. J.O Owojuyigbe, also refused to speak.

A teacher who craved anonymity, however, blamed the lapses on inadequate manpower. According to her, the task of checking temperature for pupils of the four schools is too hard on the old security guard.

“We had three security guards and two have retired. The old man left cannot check the temperature of hundreds of pupils everyday. He has been assisted by a neighbourhood watch group but that is not everyday. We have had to send pupils home for vomiting and high temperature but the burden is too much for the old man. But I can tell you that both staff and pupils here are adhering to the rules of hygiene, we are not relenting at all,’’ she said.

The Lagos State chairman, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Mr. Yomi Otubela, agreed that most schools have stopped screening for temperature. He, however, laid the blame on the management of the schools and government. He also noted that the attitude of some individuals in the larger society does not encourage screening in public places.

“You are right in your observation. About 95 per cent (schools) are no longer screening visitors and pupils. But I still make sure it is done in my school. Perhaps, it is because the news on Ebola has died off. Personally, it goes beyond Ebola. There are other viral diseases like measles and chicken pox which can also be detected through a high temperature. It is wrong for us to stop screening but we should not be discouraged.

“This is not only in schools. I attended a seminar recently in Abuja and we lodged in a hotel. An individual who was to be screened shouted on the security man. ‘What do you mean? Don’t you know I am a health officer?’ The security man had to let him be because customer is always right. But that attitude is wrong and should be condemned. The so, called enlightened people do not cooperate. It all boils down to lack of supervision from school authorities and government officials who are looking the other way,’’ he said.

Medical experts have, however, described the apparent apathy exhibited by schools as unfortunate. A medical practitioner, Dr. Femi Oloyede, said there were still reasons to worry despite the current Ebola-free status the nation enjoys.

“If schools are no longer screening for Ebola then we are toying with disaster. We were lucky the first time but we are still as vulnerable as the first time. It appears that surveillance has stopped. Nobody is paying attention again as a result of politics. Schools are going on holiday soon and it would be dangerous if we no longer screen them. You don’t know where these pupils will be during the holiday or who they will be in contact with.

“We are seeing cases of cholera now in our hospitals. It is on the rampage but because we are all used to it so we pretend it is not there. Cholera is a major ailment which can be prevented through hand washing,’’ he said.

Another medical expert, Dr. Arigbabuwo Adeyeye, said hand-washing is not only a measure against the EVD but also other illnesses such as tuberculosis, lassa fever and gastroenteritis which he said can lead to cholera and diarrhoea. “These are universal concepts for infectious disease control. We must learn to be proactive and not reactive. We don’t have to wait for another epidemic to learn the culture of sustainability,’’ he said.

Attempts to speak with the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, on Thursday were not successful. But a source at the ministry said the state government had Ebola focal   persons in each school in the state. “That is news to us because we have focal persons in the schools and they give progress reports which have been positive so far. But we will look into it,” said the source.