The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

DNA LEADER Branville McCartney yesterday questioned the government’s ability to deal with an Ebola crisis should the deadly virus reach our shores.

His comments came after a man tested positive for the Ebola virus in Dallas, Texas, and a teenage boy from West Africa was hospitalised in Miami, Dade, with Ebola symptoms. However, according to international press reports, the teen, who has not been identified, tested negative in a preliminary exam conducted by the Florida Department of Health’s lab in Miami.

In a press release issued yesterday, Mr McCartney said with the Ebola virus “at our back door”, heightened safety protocols must be enacted to ensure the safety of Bahamian citizens and visitors.

“The threat of this lethal disease in America has raised a number of serious concerns ranging from the strength of our immigration controls and border protection systems, to the preparedness of our healthcare systems to manage a potential outbreak,” he said.

“It is no secret that our healthcare system over the years has seen its fair share of challenges, including overcrowding, personnel shortages, a lack of equipment and according to recent media reports, slack and ineffective controls which have reportedly led to the disappearance of millions of dollars in medication. Coupled with current health and safety concerns which spring from the existence of the scores of shanty towns here in New Providence alone; our capital city transforms from peaceful paradise, into a powder keg waiting to be lit. Add to that the Bahamas’ reputation as a leading international transshipment hub and the danger increases.”

Mr McCartney said in the weeks following an Ebola scare in our own country, which turned out to be a false alarm, he has yet to see any deliberate action taken by this government to mitigate these very serious circumstances.”

He said: “Outside of brief, off the cuff statements from the minister of tourism regarding the government’s overall concern about the disease, we have yet to see the Ministry of Health launch an awareness campaign. As a people, we have yet to be informed of what additional controls are being employed by the government to protect this country. In a global society where goods and people are able to travel more freely than ever before, the risks of migration could spell disastrous consequences if not properly monitored and managed and unfortunately this Christie administration is failing in that regard.

“The country’s Ebola scare, though proven a false alarm should not make us complacent. The rapid spread of the Ebola Virus from remote parts of Africa to the United States is proof, that not least of all ours is absolutely safe. As a small nation with relatively open national borders and a dependency on tourist dollars from the United States, heightened safety protocols must be enacted to ensure the safety of Bahamian citizens and visitors.”

Last month, a Ukrainian man working on a freighter en route to New Orleans from The Congo, West Africa, was airlifted to the Nassau showing signs of illness. He died in Doctors Hospital two days after his arrival.

However, the Centre for Disease Control confirmed that the man died from malaria and not the Ebola virus.

Local health officials have maintained that they have protocols in place in case of an Ebola diagnosis in this country.

Last week, Dr Gerry Eijkemans, the Pan American Health Organisation’s country representative for the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, said she believed health services in the country are ready to respond and effectively manage a local case.