Sex workers and traders threatened by Ebola

Lagos-Kate, Bright and Happiness sat on the
lawn of a Lagos brothel, sipping lager and
chatting with men in groups of two or four.
Business had been good, they said, until Ebola
arrived.
"I have been in this business for two years but
business has never been this slow", said Kate.
"I used to have an average of seven customers
per day but I can hardly see four now since
this Ebola disease came to town", the 25-
year-old told AFP.
"Many of our customers are afraid to come to
us for fear of contracting the disease. This
Ebola wahala [problem] is really bad business.
The government should do something about it."
With Ebola spread through the bodily fluids of
an infected person, including sweat, the sex
workers say they've been particularly badly hit
by public fears.
"This disease is bad-o!" said 23-year-old
Bright. "It is worse than HIV/AIDS. You can
prevent HIV by using condoms but you can't do
the same with Ebola.”
"If care is not taken we will soon be driven out
of business because nobody wants to die."
Bushmeat hit
Sex workers aren't the only ones in the
informal economy, in which an estimated
three-quarters of Nigerians work who are
feeling the effects of Ebola. Three people have
died of the disease in Lagos, and more are
expected.
Sellers of bushmeat, a popular delicacy in
Nigeria and elsewhere in the region, also
complain of fewer customers.
The hunters, who catch animals such as
antelope, porcupine and bush rats, fear for
their livelihoods if the trend continues.
Fruit bats and monkeys are both thought to
transmit the virus.
Guinea, which with Sierra Leone and Liberia
has had more than 1 000 deaths from Ebola
since the start of the year, banned the
consumption of bats to try to control the
spread to humans.
Nigeria has issued similar warnings about
bushmeat but not outlawed the practice.
Vivian Lateef Koshefobamu has been in the
bushmeat business nearly 30 years. But the 45-
year-old's stall stands alone and even then
only displays a few pieces of roasted meat.
"The customers have all run away for fear of
Ebola", she told AFP. "They are scared. Most
of the bushmeat sellers are also not coming to
sell for the same reason. But I'm not afraid."
The health advice was "mere propaganda to
spoil our business", she added.
Everyone a suspect
Elsewhere in megacity Lagos, home to more
than 21 million, everyone from market traders
and undertakers, bank workers to shop
assistants openly discusses their fears and how
they've changed their behaviour.
At the Oke Arin and Balogun markets in
central Lagos, some traders wear gloves and
protective masks and swear that trade is
slack, although the teeming crowds suggest
otherwise.
In banks, cashiers and other staff dealing
with banknotes and the public do the same.
Taxi, motorised rickshaw and bus drivers fear
carrying contaminated passengers. Few people
shake hands. Everyone is wary. Even the bus
queues have become slightly more orderly.
"If somebody should have sweat on his or her
body and I get in contact with the person, I'm
aware of the fact that I might get the virus",
said bus passenger Kolawole Olalekan.
"So, everybody now, we all get into the bus
gently. No rushing like the normal Lagos hustle
and all."
At MIC Royal, a firm of undertakers
potentially on the front line given that the
bodies of Ebola victims can still pass on the
virus after death, bosses decided to turn down
business.
"Our company has not buried any Ebola victim
since the outbreak and we will not handle such
a job if given,", said senior manager Tunji
Adesalu.
"As undertakers, we appeal to the bereaved to
encourage the cremation of their dead in
order to reduce the risks of contracting the
Ebola virus."