BUBANZA March 11th (ABP) – School officials in Bubanza province (northwestern Burundi) are called on to improve hygiene in schools and nearby areas for the prevention of Ebola virus disease in schools; this was revealed during the training of those school officials on the prevention of that disease. The training took place at the provincial headquarters from March 6 to 8, 2019.
According to Mr. Jean Marie Rurankiriza, an executive in the Ministry responsible for Education and one of the organizers of the training, Ebola virus disease is already reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), bordering Burundi at about 400 kilometers from the border (in Benin), which makes training on prevention timely, according to him.
Dr. Anny Kagoma, who provided the training, said that Burundi is in an epidemiological context even if no case has already occurred. He asks school officials to teach students, their teachers and their surrounding people to wash their hands properly, avoid handling waste and other objects because the natural reservoir of this Ebola virus disease is found in bats that consume fruit, he says.
The main symptoms include headaches, fever, unexplained bleeding through holes, contact with a person from the DRC or other epidemiological areas, it was reported. Once there is a suspected case, those school officials are called upon to isolate them, to alert the experienced team, to avoid any physical contact because the chances of survival for the affected person are estimated at 10%, says Dr. Kagoma. Note that this training was organized by the Ministry of Education, Technical and Professional Training, in collaboration with UNICEF.
