Photo Credit: Daily Mail (Healer Kalifa Lengo preparing to perform the exorcism in the village of Meliandou)
Guinea known as land where witchcraft is sought after more than science for curing illness, traditional medicine men in Guinea revealed the Ebola epidemic would be over by now if they had been properly included in the outbreak response; because they have potions, spell or touch for many ailments Western doctors can't treat.
The virus, first detected last March, in the forest region of southeastern Guinea, information dissemination through the use of modern technology proved challenging, thereby resulting in the disease outstaying its welcome.
Known as "guérisseurs" in Guinea--The president of the association of Traditional healers and imam at the central mosque in Macenta, Karamoko Ibrahima Fofana, said that they have unique access to remote villages. Having a knowledge of the villages, dissemination of information by them would have yielded much more and better result.
"Guérisseurs are often the first port of call for the sick. We could have spread information on how to protect against Ebola or told people with symptoms to seek help in the treatment centres." 69-year-old Fofana said.Speaking to Thomson Reuters Foundation in Macenta, Fofana added, "If a guérisseur has been trained on Ebola and is then caught treating a suspected case, they are fined 50,000 GNF ($7), stripped of their membership and reported to the police."
The deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has infected more than 23,500 people in West Africa and killed over 9,500, nearly all in the three worst-affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Transmitted through blood, vomit, diarrhoea and other bodily fluids; Health officials are exploring ways to prevent similar disease outbreaks around the world, with epidemics expected to be a focus at a global conference on disaster risk reduction in Japan later this month.
Via: Yahoo
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