Mbewe Fears Bembas May Get Ebola

Chadiza MMD member of parliament Allan Mbewe on Tuesday caused laughter in the House when he asked if the government had come up with any measures that would prevent the spread of Ebola through the eating of monkeys by Bemba-speaking people.
And health minister Dr Joseph Kasonde says people who are in areas affected by the Ebola virus should be discouraged from travelling to countries that are not affected.
In his follow-up question to a ministerial statement that was presented by Dr Kasonde on Zambia’s preparedness should there be an outbreak of the Ebola virus, Mbewe asked what precautions the government had taken to ensure Bembas are not eating monkeys, which are believed to be the carriers of the Ebola virus.
“Mr Speaker, this is a very serious question. I want to find out what measures, the precautions, the Ministry of Health is taking to ensure Bembas are not eating monkeys to avoid the spread of Ebola?” asked Mbewe in apparent tribal cousinship between Easterners and Bembas as the House burst into laughter.
In response, Dr Kasonde said people should exercise caution when eating the animals.
“I know of some areas where they eat smaller animals than monkeys but let these people enjoy those animals. What matters is that caution should be taken,” he said.
And Dr Kasonde said if the Ebola virus was to be contained on the African continent, people in affected areas should be discouraged from travelling to areas that are not affected.
He said it was not possible for the government to maintain surveillance on all borders around Zambia, hence the focus on critical areas such as Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport and Mwami, Kasumbalesa, Nakonde, Mpulungu, Nchelenge and Katima Mulilo borders which had all been equipped with hand-held thermal scanners.
Dr Kasonde said an estimated budget of K106,142,459 had been prepared to cover, among other things, disease surveillance, port health, case management, community sensitisation, isolation and quarantine facilities as well as laboratory capacity.