By Ismail M. Kabir
While the public is being sensitized about the danger of the Ebola Virus Disease, our community is not doing much to safeguard the lives of its people.
After the subhi (dawn) prayer this morning in Enyinomo area of Kabba junction in Adavi LGA, muslim faithfuls in the area were listening to the usual morning admonition when a nurse gave a chilling account of her experience yesterday in Okene.
While narrating her story, Mrs. Ramat Zubair, a professional nurse and one of the pilgrims said that the entire candidates for this year's Hajj converged at Ebira central mosque yesterday for the usual yellow fever vaccine.
She said after waiting several hours for her vaccination, she stepped out briefly for a light refreshment. Upon her return, Ramat said most of the candidates on queue have been vaccinated.
As it got to her turn, she observed that the woman administering the vaccine was wearing same hand glove.
As a professional Nurse, Mrs. Ramat said she couldn't condone the inherent danger.
She challenged the woman who instantly retorted that she knew her job well.
Not minding her rudeness, Nurse Ramat said she probed further and to her greatest dismay, the woman had no cotton wool! She was covering every injection spot with her bare hand as the single pair of gloves she was wearing was already torn.
Mrs. Ramat said a cold shiver ran down her spine when she noticed that the woman's hands were blood stained!
"I couldn't believe my eyes. I asked her how on earth she could be so careless at a time the whole nation is apprehensive of the Ebola disease.
"To my greatest shock, she simply told me that she was equally putting herself at risk, showing me her hands stained with blood of the pilgrims she has since vaccinated.
"I told her she can never vaccinate me with such hand. It was at this point that she reluctantly stepped up to change the torn hand gloves", said Mrs. Ramat who had to take over from the woman to vaccinate the remaining pilgrims.
She lamented the careless attitude on the part of our community members of the pilgrims board.
"How can they endanger the lives of over 200 Ebira people by engaging the service of such careless quack? I had a sleepless night and will not rest till I report this to the appropriate quarters", she submitted.
Ramat noted that she had to contain her anger to avoid raising alarm as the ignorant pilgrims who were oblivious of the danger the woman's action posed to their health already contributed the sum of N200 each to compensate her 'hard work'.
She added that she was pissed by the whole exercise and wondered why professionals from our community were not dispatched to conduct the vaccination saying that by such attitude, the chance of transmitting infectious diseases among the pilgrims was very high.
She therefore appealed that the concerned authorities be alerted to avoid similar behaviour in subsequent exercise.
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