Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Ebola Rumors





The New Dawn [Liberia]
6 August 2014


Guest Writer

[…] If you've ridden a taxi cab, a commercial bus or visited the market places, some offices or even entertainment centers, you would listen to the rumors all over. And the rumor about the whole Ebola stuff is that it was the 'Queen of Sheba', who I really don't know and have not seen, but heard of her, that brought Ebola to Liberia. Can you imagine!!!

According to the rumor mongers, the Queen of Sheba was in Liberia at the invitation of the government and President since "26 Eve". They say, she even left on Saturday, August 2, 2014 - just imagine they know everything about the Queen of Sheba (whether they have ever seen or interacted with her or not, they explain as if they are close to her if at all she really exist now). It's actually useless to go through the entire rumor owing to its lack of comprehension.

Now, from denial to Queen of Sheba, it has generated into the poisoning of drinking wells in communities in Monrovia and its environs by some undesirable individuals, who these same rumor mongers say, are doing this on instruction from a certain 'government officials' to justify the presence of Ebola in Liberia- can you imagine again.

One may not want to deny the fact that there may be some unscrupulous persons perpetrating wickedness, but to suggest that "government officials" were doing this to justify the presence of Ebola in Liberia so that the international community can pump in more money, is not only a myth, but very unpatriotic. Even though it may seem, not worth responding to, it is also important to put a halt to these things so that it will stop giving a different picture of Liberia outside. […]





The Guardian [UK]

9 August 2014



As aid workers offer health advice on the streets, residents fear emergency measures are starving the capital of supplies

Gabriella Jóźwiak in Monrovia

[…] A truck pulls up, stacked high with packets of water. Usually Liberians consider these safer than drinking from wells, but today business is slow for the sellers. Last week reports that some people deliberately poisoned local water sources, including those used by drinking-water companies, have left local people unsure what is safe. A Liberian newspaper published photos of two suspects on Friday, along with one of a dead dog that reportedly "melted instantly upon drinking water from the well". […]


The Sun [Nigeria]
9 August 2014


By VINCENT KALU, CHIOMA IGBOKWE, HENRY OKONKWO, GILBERT EKEZIE and ANTHONY OBI, LAGOS; JUDEX OKORO, CALABAR; JEFF AMECHI AGBODO, ABAKALIKI; AIDOGHIE PAULINUS, ABUJA; TUNDE OMOLEHIN, SOKOTO; DAVID MOLOMO, YOLA and EMMANUEL UZOR, ONITSHA

[…] Across state capitals and major towns in Nigeria as well as the social media, no issue is more important now than Ebola and the different steps including the ridiculous being taken by Nigerians to avoid being caught in the web. The panicky measures have led to a high demand and high costs of not only sanitizers but salt which is the latest ‘therapy’ many residents of Lagos, where the virus has claimed two lives with six more on danger list, woke up yesterday to adopt. The salt therapy, which demands that one should mix salt with hot water to bathe and also prepare same solution to drink within minutes, went viral not only in Lagos but across the country where fear-stricken residents besieged stores to buy bags of salt to prepare the therapy. […]


The Guardian [Nigeria]
10 August 2014


    Written by Charles Akpeji, Jalingo

NO fewer than four persons have been confirmed dead and scores hospitalised in various private hospitals in Taraba State following excessive consumption of salt which they erroneously believe deter the deadly Ebola virus after text messages went viral Saturday in the state capital, Jalingo, that salt water solution and bathing of same were anti-dote to the disease. […]


The Guardian [Nigeria]
10 August 2014

   
    Written by Ali Garba, Bauchi

FOLLOWING rumors that people should bath with salt water AND drink same for the prevention of Ebola, three people have died after observing the exercise in Bauchi State. […]
 



The Guardian [Nigeria]
13 August 2014


    Written by Ejere Wynner

THE fear of the deadly Ebola virus, which has gripped Lagosians on one part, is also boosting the sales of hand sanitizers, salt and bitter kola as demand for these products has soared. 

It was indeed unusual as people queued up in almost every pharmacy and mini stores in Surulere, Lagos yesterday, to purchase of hand sanitizer. It has been discovered that many people in Lagos are today scared of body contact and warm greetings in form of handshakes. […]







Allafrica.com
17 August 2014


By Timothy Ajiboye
This Day

Contrary to allegations that the Ata Igala, Ameh Oboni who is the president of Kogi State Council of Chiefs, instructed the people to take the spiritual bath of salt and water as protection against the Ebola virus Disease [EVD], the royal father has denied the allegation, saying it was an attempt to tarnish his image by some mischievous elements. […]


Yahoo! News
29 August 2014


CONAKRY (Reuters) - Riots broke out in Guinea's second-largest city Nzerekore over rumours that health workers had infected people with the deadly Ebola virus, a Red Cross official and residents said on Friday.

A crowd of young men, some armed with clubs and knives, set up barricades across the southern city on Thursday and threatened to attack the hospital before security forces moved in to restore order.

Gunshots were fired and several people were injured, said Youssouf Traore, president of the Guinean Red Cross.

"A rumour, which was totally false, spread that we had sprayed the market in order to transmit the virus to locals," Traore said. "People revolted and resorted to violence, prompting soldiers to intervene." […]
 



IRIN
3 September 2014



By Kate Thomas

[…] Some international media reports have cast Liberians as uneducated or ignorant rumour-mongers. But Susan Shepler, an associate professor at American University and a specialist on education and conflict in Sierra Leone and Liberia, said it is easy to understand why many Liberians tend to doubt government information.

“People are not acting out of ignorance, they’re acting out of experience,” she told IRIN. “In Liberia people have historically used community information and rumours as a way of getting information at times when they weren’t sure whether to trust the government,” she said.

“Information was vital during Liberia’s conflict but official sources were often so unreliable that people relied on informal networks instead,” Shepler added. “At times the media and authorities reported one thing and the rumour network said something else, and it turned out that the rumours were right.” […]





The New Dawn [Liberia]
24 September 2014


Franklin Doloquee, Nimba County

Two Ebola patients, who died of the virus in separate communities in Nimba County have reportedly resurrected in the county. The victims, both females, believed to be in their 60s and 40s respectively, died of the Ebola virus recently in Hope Village Community and the Catholic Community in Ganta, Nimba. […]
 



New York Times
20 October 2014


By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

In the month since a Liberian man infected with Ebola traveled to Dallas, where he later died, the nation has marinated in a murky soup of understandable concern, wild misinformation, political opportunism and garden-variety panic. […]


Reuters
23 October 2014


By Misha Hussain and Maria Caspani

DAKAR/NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Leroy Ponpon doesn't know whether to lock himself in his flat in Monrovia because of the deadly Ebola virus, or because he is gay. Christian churches' recent linking of the two have made life hell for him and hundreds of other gays. […]




Ghana Web
19 February 2015


The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has dispelled rumours circulating on social media alleging that it had confirmed Boko Haram inoculation of the Ebola virus into chalks in Ghana.

In a press statement released on February 19, 2015 and signed by the Deputy Chief Executive (Food Safety Division), John Odame-Darkwah, the FDA stated emphatically that the information is false and advised the general public to disregard it.

The statement said their attention was drawn to the allegation and misinformation going around including the death of two teachers as a result of the inoculation. […]