By Syriacus Buguzi
Scientists at Oxford University in the United Kingdom have put Tanzania on the list of 15 African countries that are at high risk of an Ebola outbreak. They have also warned that more than 22 million people across Africa are at risk of infection.
This week, the government assured the public of its unwavering commitment to keeping Ebola out after standard thermal scanners to detect Ebola suspects were installed at four major airports--Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro International Airport, Zanzibar and Mwanza.
As of yesterday, Health ministry authorities were hard at work allaying fears of an outbreak in Tanzania. Should there be any outbreak, Ebola camps have been put up at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences where suspects or confirmed cases will be looked after before being taken to Temeke national isolation centre.
But a new study titled “Mapping the zoonotic niche of Ebola virus disease in Africa” has raised the alarm in Tanzania and other countries across Africa where Ebola has never been reported. It suggests that governments in those countries should start thinking of new ways to deal with the Ebola threat beyond targeting major airports and seaports.
The researchers, who published the findings in eLife Journal this week, believe the Ebola virus is thriving in wild animals, which are its major reservoir. Tanzania, Burundi and 13 other African countries where no case of Ebola has been reported so far are home to wild animals.
Kenya, which was earlier marked by the World Health Organisation as a country at risk of an outbreak because it is a major transport hub for all airlines from West Africa to the region, was not mapped in the latest Oxford study. Neither was Rwanda.
The Citizen on Sunday sought to understand why an Ebola case has never been reported in Tanzania despite being close to countries like Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where hundreds have died since the disease first broke out in 1976.
According to Microbiology Professor Fred Mhalu of Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania is unlikely to experience an Ebola outbreak because people here have fewer interactions with wild animals.
“We need more research on that but Tanzanians have fewer interactions with wild animals,” he added. “It’s not a common practice here for people to eat bush meat… This reduces the risk of transmission.”
The latest study, funded by Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation among others, says governments in the countries considered to be at high risk should identify regions where infected animals are most prevalent--that being the first major step towards understanding where outbreaks are likely to start and where to target their resources as well as carrying out the training required to contain the outbreak in the early stages.
The scientists have found that the temperatures and vegetation in those countries favour the thriving of wild animals, especially bats--which are the major reservoirs of the Ebola virus. These findings go beyond the thinking in earlier studies. “Our map shows the likely ‘reservoir’ of Ebola virus in animal populations and this is larger than has been previously appreciated,” said Nick Golding of Oxford University’s Department of Zoology. Bats are thought to be a major carrier of the virus. Ebola has so far been found in three species of fruit bats--the hammer-headed, Franquet’s epauletted fruit bat and the little collared fruit bat.
The researchers are calling on scientists to establish whether the threatening bat species are found in their regions. According to another author of the study, there is still little understanding even among the scientists themselves of where the bat species are located, calling for further research. “Unfortunately, we have a very poor understanding of exactly where these bat species are found and which populations are infected,” Mr Golding said. “We believe that bats in areas that are likely to be at risk should be tested for Ebola to better understand the threat to local people.”
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