Fighting Ebola with technology

Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr.

The reported death of Dr. Adedavoh at a time many assumed she was fine and had been discharged brought sadness to the hearts of Nigerians. Some other health workers had earlier succumbed to this deadly virus. Today, Nigerians have become agitated. But the good side is that we have become more health conscious with many now washing their hands as frequently as possible.

Ebola is a part of a family of viruses that cause ‘hemorrhagic fevers.’ The results are: failure of blood vessel integrity and blood clotting, leading to internal and external bleeding. I am happy with the fact that social media campaigns such as #FactsOnEbola and other forms of Internet marketing have been used to dispel certain myths around what Ebola is and how it can be contracted but the flip side obviously is that it has also been used to cause panic and spread fears. This made me to publish a post on my blog (www.cfagbata.com) titled ‘The Ebola Virus Outbreak: Fear/ panic isn’t helpful.’

The good news about our case is that a lot of us in Nigeria believe that the deadly virus exists and we are taking the right steps to protect ourselves but in the worst hit countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, they have had to deal with the fact that their citizens truly believe that Ebola is a white man’s disease developed to deplete the black race. I doubted this when I first heard it but with a little research online, I found some signposts and billboards put up by the government of Liberia with the inscription “Ebola kills.”

A recent CNET report showed that the majority of the telecommunications market in Liberia is wireless, with 69 per cent relying on mobile phones. That number is 67 per cent in Sierra Leone, making text messages a crucial way to distribute prayers for encouragement and life-saving messages. Therefore, text messages such as ‘Ebola is real. It kills with little warning’, ‘Please, adhere to health messages to safeguard your family.’ are being sent to millions in Liberia as a way of using technology to keep people informed. The Canadian red cross team released a report of ‘How a digital tool called HealthMap.org predicted the outbreak of Ebola before it finally struck. HealthMap is a tool that monitors and aggregates data from numerous online sources worldwide including social media on topics related to public health threats. It crunches and analyses this data and provides real-time updates on health threats, anything from West Nile Virus and rabies, to E. coli and Ebola. Reports of haemorrhagic fever in Guinea started to pop up on HealthMap before the outbreak of Ebola was officially confirmed. It was an early warning sign that this virus, which was not present in West Africa previously, was now a threat. You can check out the current Ebola outbreak timeline and map on HealthMap.org. You might want to read ‘How a computer algorithm predicted West Africa’s Ebola outbreak before It was announced” – http://j.mp/ndd624d for further information.

Going forward, one of the simplest ways of fighting and destroying this virus for good is to stay clean and report any suspected cases at once. This is one reason why the late Dr. Adedavoh is seen by many as a hero because she immediately reported the case of the late Patrick Sawyer to the Lagos State Government.

Below are some recommended proactive technology-based solutions to ensure that as much as possible public places and gatherings are kept safe:

Automated hand sanitiser dispensers

This makes it mandatory for anyone stepping into a public building say a bank or a place of worship to use this it first before being allowed in. These dispensers are fully automated and are activated by in-built motion sensors. The dispensers will be placed at strategic points and integrated with access control barriers or other systems including ‘card’ systems, in a relay. In other words, you sanitise your hands first before you are allowed in or before you swipe your card to gain access. I have made it a point of duty to always request to use a sanitiser each time I visit any office basically because I want to be sure they are also playing their role.

Automated body temperature monitors / readers

This solution is essentially a wall-mounted unit which automatically reads the body temperature of every person passing through an access control point. This information may then be used to decide if a particular individual requires further screening or engagement or not, depending on the specific management system or procedure in place.

These fixed infrared thermometers are fully online and are so accurate they are also used in the R&D environments. They can read accurate body temperature in a non-contact measurement manner.

The thermometers have fast response times of less than two seconds and are adjustable for ‘emissivity’ and fitted with optional USB programming interface and software. This can be integrated with an access control device as well.

Thermal infrared imaging camera

This solution is also a wall-mounted unit which automatically reads the body temperature of every person passing through an access point.

This solution was extensively used in Malaysia during the bird flu epidemic some years ago. Individuals can be examined without a contact and the hot or cold parts of the body of the individuals can be detected automatically.

Temperature distribution can be captured within millisecond. The information captured by this camera may then be used to decide if a particular individual requires further screening or engagement or not, depending on the specific management system or procedure in place.

A team of ICT consultants of which I am a part of is currently installing this and other solutions in some public places within the country, all in a bid to ensure we use a proactive technology to fight and conquer the Ebola virus.

In conclusion, this is the best time for Nigerians to embrace the use of technology more; use social media more positively to stay informed and educate others (not to spread fear and panic).

Try moving some of your meetings online and instead of physical meetings. Avoid visiting public places except where unavoidable. Use your bank’s e-channels more often. Download and install the Ebola reporting app mentioned in the tool of the week section. Most importantly, please wash your hands frequently, clean your mobile phones and other devices, especially those that have keypads such as laptops and remote controls, they could become a haven for germs, if neglected.

I join millions of Nigerians to declare that by the grace of God, Ebola will be defeated through our collective efforts and basic hygiene.