Few viruses can boast of being the inspiration for hit dance tunes. But then ebola — which can kill up to 90 per cent of victims, has no vaccine or cure, and causes horrific internal and external bleeding — is not your average pathogen. When an epidemic struck west Africa’s music-crazy nations of Guinea and Liberia, it spawned mass panic — and the outbreak of a new dance accompanied to a infectious rap song.
“Ebola, Ebola in town. Don’t touch your friend! No kissing, no eating something. It’s dangerous!” warns the chorus of Ebola in Town , looped over a catchy, trippy electro-dance beat.
At one point, the rapper describes an attempt to escape ebola by fleeing to neighbouring Guinea only to discover, in lyrics that suggest a stalking ex-lover, the disease lurking there too. Clubbers bitten by the musical bug have come up with a “no touching” jig in roadside bars of the capital, Monrovia.
Awareness through music
“With such a high illiteracy rate, and such important messages to get across, sometimes a catchy or humorous song is the best way. I still remember ones that were made when I was a child in school here in Liberia,” said bank manager Ethel Knuckles, in her 30s.
Such musical comic relief follows in the tradition of others such as Ivory Coast’s Crazy Chicken dance, inspired by the bird flu virus. Aside from comic relief, in a region with weak public health systems, the ebola song also communicates vital information needed to curb the virus, which is spread through contact with fluids of infected people or animals, like urine, blood and saliva.
This week, Sierra Leone confirmed four people had died in a district that borders southern Guinea, where the outbreak began.
Hosted by fruit bats, a local delicacy, the “molecular shark” has so far killed 145 people, around two thirds in Guinea.
“Timing and appropriate healthcare are crucial to whether ebola spreads, and whether victims survive. It needs to be taken very seriously but there’s a tendency for people to develop a kind of paranoid psychosis about ebola,” said Sakouba Keita of Guinea’s Health Ministry.
For those who do beat the odds, Ebola in Town’s call for “no touching” pre-empts the stigma that often awaits. Health workers say the terrified reactions towards survivors recalls the early days of the HIV epidemic, and can even affect relatives.
An added complication is that medics on the frontline often face the greatest prejudice.
“Stigmatisation has now become the main challenge we are dealing with,” said Marc Poncin, emergency co-ordinator of Doctors Without Borders, whose suspected or confirmed cases have dwindled to seven in Guinea. An epidemic is officially over once 42 days have passed with no new cases.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2014
