There is a new phobia (excessive fear of something) in town and its name is Ebolaphobia. We woke up last month to face a new challenge, as if the deadly problems we are facing in Nigeria are not enough. “One mad man,” as President Goodluck Jonathan put it, “brought Ebola to us”. Now, the fear of Ebola is the beginning of wisdom. Everywhere you go, like MTN, it is all about Ebola and the awareness is at fever pitch.

The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a serious matter indeed. Spread through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected persons, not many people know that the dreaded disease had been in existence since 1976 when it was first “discovered” in a United States laboratory.

For many of us, our knowledge of Ebola began with the fateful arrival of the late Liberian diplomat, Patrick Sawyer, in Nigeria on July 20, his subsequent death, the death of a nurse that came in direct contact with him, the spread of the disease to about eight Nigerians and the surveillance of about 200 people. At a point last week, 1,013 people had died and 1,848 cases had been recorded as a result of Ebola since the current outbreak this year.

But with all this publicity on Ebola has come a disturbing trend of scare-mongering by Ebolaphobes. While it is good to take precautionary or preventive measures, including those recently announced by the. Federal Government and the impressive enlightenment being provided by the University of Ilorin, Ebolaphobia is fast becoming a sort of harassment and psychological terrorism.

Read full post http://acadablog.com/lecture-of-ebolaphobia-and-ebolaphobes/
Main source: http://unilorin.edu.ng

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