The Sunday Mail
The Government has intensified the screening and monitoring process of students coming from or passing through Ebola affected countries for enrolment at the country’s learning institutions, a senior official with the Ministry of Health and Child Care has said.
Zimbabwe, as a result of high learning standards, accommodates foreign academics especially at its tertiary institutions.
The Government’s move to intensify monitoring systems comes amid growing concerns on the country’s safety as the death toll from the affected countries nears 5 000.
Last week, a female student enrolled at Harare Polytechnic was discharged from Wilkins Hospital in Harare after she had been detained for exhibiting suspected Ebola symptoms.
It however, turned out that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) national was suffering from Malaria.
Health experts say Ebola diagnosis is difficult within 10 days of infection because the early symptoms such as fever are also synonymous with those of malaria and typhoid.
At least 42 people have succumbed to Ebola in the DRC while over 245 people, who had been in close contact with Ebola victims, are currently being closely monitored. While The Sunday Mail could not establish the statistics of foreign students learning in Zimbabwe, indications are that the country is accommodating thousands of foreign academics.
Statistics from 2010 show that Africa University offered degree programmes to about 1 100 students with 40 percent coming from 22 African countries.
The Harare International School has an enrolment of 449 students with 65 nationalities represented at the institution.
Dr Portia Manangazira, the director of epidemiology and disease control in the Ministry of Health and Child Care said the screening of foreign students for Ebola had began in August.
“As soon as the Ebola virus began to spread widely in August, we also began screening foreign students who were coming into the country as most higher learning institutions were opening,” she said.
“The screening and monitoring is not only limited to foreign students, even the Zimbabwean students who travel outside the country for exchange programs or tournaments undergo the same process,” added Dr Manangazira.
Ebola was discovered in 1976 and is currently ravaging Sierra Leona, Liberia and Guinea.
