SEX Workers At Risk Of Contracting And Spreading Ebola

The Choma District Aids Task Force (DATF) says sex workers, especially those in border areas, are at a higher risk of contracting and spreading the Ebola Disease Virus (EVD) because some of their clients may be from affected countries.
Ebola, spreads through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.
DATF chairperson Partner Siabutuba said sex workers in border areas need to be sensitised on how to protect themselves from Ebola especially that some of their clients may be from countries affected by the deadly disease.
“Our sisters and brothers [sex workers] are at a higher risk of not only acquiring HIV but also the deadly Ebola disease. Sex workers in border towns offer their services to different customers from different countries and they risk giving their service to an Ebola-infected client, so they need to be educated on how they should protect themselves from Ebola, which is also transmitted sexually from an infected person,” Mr Siabutuba said in an interview.
Mr Siabutuba also commended Government for its unwavering commitment towards sensitising the nation on how to detect and prevent the spread of Ebola, which has killed over 2,000 lives in West African where it broke out in February this year.
He urged sex workers, especially in border towns, to be wary of Ebola as they can catch the disease from their clients.
“We fear that sex workers can spread Ebola,” Mr Siabutuba said.
He also commended Government for its unwavering commitment to sensitising the nation on how Ebola can be prevented or kept in check in an event that the disease spreads into the country.
“Government has done quite well in raising awareness on Ebola but our appeal is that the awareness should be intensified in rural areas and the border towns. There is also need to educate sex workers that the disease can also be transmitted through sex with an Ebola virus-infected person,” Mr Siabutuba said.

Posted by Kunda on September 16, 2014. Filed under LATEST NEWS, NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry