Real people are as capable of being heroes as fictional superheroes. In this article, we’ll focus on outstanding Africans doing superhero stuff.
Stella Adadevoh: In 2014, an endemic disease outbreak had the world at a standstill. This virus affected over nine countries in varying degrees. The first Nigerian case was confirmed on 23rd July 2014, and it eventually involved 19 laboratory-confirmed cases of the Ebola Virus Disease. The quick application of public health policies was substantial enough to avert a countrywide spread of this frightening disease. The result was that the endemic was curbed on time, largely because of Dr Stella Adadevoh.
In early July 2014, a Liberian-American attorney arrived in Lagos on a flight heading to a conference and collapsed in the airport. The patient was immediately taken to First Consultant Medical Center, where one of Dr Adadevoh’s colleagues initially diagnosed him as suffering from malaria. Despite the fact that no Nigerian doctor had detected a case of Ebola before, Dr Adadevoh suspected the patient might have been exposed to the highly contagious virus. So she ordered blood tests to confirm while also warning Nigerian health officials to be on guard.
While expecting the test results, Dr Adadevoh was being harassed by the Liberian government to let the patient go to attend the conference. Dr Adadevoh remained adamant despite threats of lawsuits, saying that she would not release the patient “for the greater public good.”
The test results later came out positive for the Ebola virus. While the patient could not be treated in time, Dr Adadevoh’s medical knowledge and determination to do the right thing guaranteed that other exposed patients could be treated quickly and contained in the outbreak. Unfortunately, in treating the initial patients, Dr Adedevoh contracted the virus and passed away, along with three of her colleagues at the medical centre.
