As Nigeria confirms first Coronavirus case, Here is The Best Defense against the Virus

Nigeria has recorded its first case of Coronavirus after an Italian national tested positive to the virus, the Federal Ministry of Health twitted this on their twitter handle.

The Federal Ministry of Health has confirmed a coronavirus(Covid-19) case in Lagos State Nigeria. The case which was confirmed on 27/02/2020 is the first case to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the outbreak in China in January 2020 @WHO @BBCWorld #CoronaVirusUpdates pic.twitter.com/uF79NYzvAz

— Federal Ministry of Health, NIGERIA (@Fmohnigeria) February 27, 2020

This is the first case of the coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere on the continent, Algeria and Egypt have also confirmed cases of this virus. 

Below is the best steps you can take to defend yourself against this virus as chronicles by opinions on CNN edition.

The steps you can take to protect yourself against the extremely low chance that you might get exposed to coronavirus in the US will also guard against the widespread outbreak of seasonal influenza we are actually experiencing here. 

While at least 60 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the US, no one has died of it here, while this year's influenza has infected at least 29 million in the US and killed about 16,000 so far. 

Read: What Does Coronavirus do to the body?

Covid-19 is spreading easily and sustainably in the Hubei province and other parts of China, and has been confirmed in more than two dozen other countries. While the global death toll has so far topped 2,700, it's good to remember that more than 80% of the Covid-19 cases have been mild, requiring little to no medical intervention, and it is much less deadly than severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), which are also coronaviruses. 

Here is the best advice I can give you, to avoid any virus and flu: Be intentionally hygienic in public and during interactions with others. Hand hygiene is a cornerstone of infection prevention. Effective hand hygiene requires appropriate duration and thoroughness, which should be a goal each time our hands are cleaned. 

Use soap and water for the amount of time it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song, or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. In a study we conducted on hand hygiene, the most common areas missed by hand washers were thumbs, wrists, and in between fingers.



When our clinical team was caring for four patients with the deadly Ebola virus disease in Emory University Hospital's isolation unit five years ago, our protocol for donning (putting on) and doffing (taking off) our personal protective equipment (PPE) -- disposable scrubs, a Tyvek suit, shoe booties, two pairs of gloves, apron, respirator, and hood -- was a matter of life and death.

During simulations, we determined that the two points of highest risk for self-contamination were insufficient hand hygiene and during removal of the powered air purifying respirator. In resource-scarce areas where Ebola outbreaks have occurred, the danger to health care workers is even more pervasive. 

Our team was successful at safeguarding our well-being because we monitored each other. Each time we put on or took off our PPE to enter or leave the isolation unit, a colleague with a checklist was watching to make sure we didn't miss a step. 

Protection of health care workers is vital with Covid-19 as well: so far, more than 1,700 health care workers in China have been infected and six have died. That is worrisome. We don't want to lose health care workers as happened in Sierra Leone and Liberia with Ebola, where there are monuments to the hundreds of health care workers who died there. 

In the real world, it would be unrealistic to walk around wearing protective clothing and respirators. But there are lessons we learned that can apply to any situation.

For instance, my family just flew from Michigan to Atlanta, and asked me, what do we do on the plane? Should we wear a mask? My answer -- do what you should do every time: Don't touch surfaces and then touch your face. It doesn't have to be in a fearful or compulsive way -- just be aware and mindful of protecting yourself.

A mask that you have never used before and wear all day long, that gets damp, is not going to help you. You may touch it a lot because it is uncomfortable, lowering its effectiveness. 

Quite simply, good hand hygiene and face hygiene will protect you from a lot of illnesses, including Covid-19. 

Risk is dependent on exposure. Some people will have an increased risk of infection, such as health care workers caring for patients with Covid-19 and other close contacts. For the general public in Nigeria, who are unlikely to be exposed to this virus, the immediate health risk from Covid-19 is considered low at this time.

My risk, being an infectious disease physician, is slightly increased, since I see individuals with respiratory viruses. But my best defense is the same as yours: be aware of potential exposure and mitigate it, be mindful of what you touch, and be sure to wash your hands well and often.

Source(s): CNN, BBC, PT