A message advising Nigerians to to their bath with hot water mixed
with salt in order to avoid the Ebola Virus disease went viral overnight
in Nigeria.
The same mixture is also recommended to be taken to ward off the disease.
The spread of the message, especially by text, The Eagle Online learnt, kept several residents of Jos, the Plateau State capital, awake all night.
It also created panic.
We can report that a lot of families in Jos cut short their sleep and were awake till as late 3:30am observing the procedure.
An avid user of social network, Facebook, who is also the Lead Director at Reliks Media Limited, Ikem Okuhu, confirmed this development.
Okuhu wrote on his Facebook page:
It was only less than 12 hours ago that news filtered in that the US Food and Drug Administration had approved one of the experimental drugs, TKM-Ebola, for use in the treatment of the virus.
For now, doctors have said the best bet is to observe high personal hygiene so as not to be infected.
And this includes constant usage of sanitisers.
In Nigeria, two persons have been confirmed dead from the effect of the disease while the World Health Organisation put the total death from the EVD at 932 at at Tuesday.
A LIberian who flew into the country last week, Patrick Sawyer, and one of the nurses who treated him are the two persons to have died from the virus in Nigeria.
The Vice President of the Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Titus Ibekwe, according to available information, debunked the claim that a bath of warm water with salt can cure Ebola.
Ibekwe described it as spreading wrong information.
He said the mixture does not cure Ebola.
The same mixture is also recommended to be taken to ward off the disease.
The spread of the message, especially by text, The Eagle Online learnt, kept several residents of Jos, the Plateau State capital, awake all night.
It also created panic.
We can report that a lot of families in Jos cut short their sleep and were awake till as late 3:30am observing the procedure.
An avid user of social network, Facebook, who is also the Lead Director at Reliks Media Limited, Ikem Okuhu, confirmed this development.
Okuhu wrote on his Facebook page:
“Persistent phone calls woke me at 3AM.
“At first I ignored them and thought I could continue to sleep but the damned thing wont stop ringing.
“I put the phone in silence mode and tried to sleep but Ebube chose that time to want to weewee!
“So while walking him to the toilet, I opened my phone and saw that my sisters, aunties, cousins, friends and sundry distant relatives have been calling.However, this runs contrary to scientific research that has confirmed that there is no known cure for the Ebola Virus Disease except the two experimental drugs in the United States of America and an inconclusive research carried out in 1989 by a team led by a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Maurice Iwu.
“At first I thought a close relative had died.
“Because I was not picking, two of them forwarded the text message below:
“‘Please ensure that you and your family and all your neighbours bath with hot water and salt before daybreak today because of Ebola virus which is spreading through the air.’
“Because I knew sleep has gone for good, I called two of them and was shocked they were all awake still hoping to reach me before daybreak!
“While this showed how much they cared about me, I was more concerned and how much religion-inspired superstition has come to control almost all that we think and do!”
It was only less than 12 hours ago that news filtered in that the US Food and Drug Administration had approved one of the experimental drugs, TKM-Ebola, for use in the treatment of the virus.
For now, doctors have said the best bet is to observe high personal hygiene so as not to be infected.
And this includes constant usage of sanitisers.
In Nigeria, two persons have been confirmed dead from the effect of the disease while the World Health Organisation put the total death from the EVD at 932 at at Tuesday.
A LIberian who flew into the country last week, Patrick Sawyer, and one of the nurses who treated him are the two persons to have died from the virus in Nigeria.
The Vice President of the Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Titus Ibekwe, according to available information, debunked the claim that a bath of warm water with salt can cure Ebola.
Ibekwe described it as spreading wrong information.
He said the mixture does not cure Ebola.
& her Apology below
Okay, So I just read this on nairaland....I knew this was a rumour and definitely a prank. salt and water bawo? Ebola is a VIRUS and not a WORM!
Okay, So I just read this on nairaland....I knew this was a rumour and definitely a prank. salt and water bawo? Ebola is a VIRUS and not a WORM!
Read Below. .(unedited)
I Started The Saltwater Ebola Cure Rumor I Truely Am Sorry – by DRealGeesam1
My confession and apology
Dear nairalanders and everyone who have heard of the ebola Prevention “News”, My name is Adesewa, I am coming out clean because what started has a joke has escalated into the unprecedented.
How it started
Yesterday i was with my friend in her hostel, we were talking about this Ebola out break, when one of my friends, Funke (she introduced me to nairaland) brought the idea of Us playing a prank on our friends. The first suggestion was to tell people that aloe very could cure Ebola, but we thought it would sound too ridiculous so we forgot about it.
Later that even an idea came to me (i now regret that i did it).
I decided to send a BBM broadcast message to my friends, telling them that the Ministry of Health has asked everyone to bathe with salt and warm water and drink some of it.
I sent the message 7:08pm yesterday
Later this midnight i started getting calls and messages that i should drink salt water and bath with it.
All efforts to tell people that i was the one who started the joke failed. Only my friends who i mentioned earlier believed me. Even my mum could me this morning, i did not know what to tell her.
I am using this medium to beg you all to warn and tell everyone, before they drink salt and damage their health.
Please dont be hash on me. I know this has gone out of hand. I never knew it will be this serious. Some have even added to the original message i sent.
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