[ad_1]
Ghana will need to advocate with the World Health Organization (WHO) to obtain Ebola vaccines as a buffer to protect its citizens, said Ghana Health Service (GHS) Director General Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye.
According to him, this had become necessary after three people were declared dead in Guinea from the Ebola virus.
He said the vaccine that would be given to those most at risk had become necessary because the country in June 2015 stopped an Ebola vaccine trial that was underway in Ho in the Volta region.
He said that if this trial had been undertaken in Ghana, it would have helped the country obtain a suitable vaccine that would be adapted to the genes of the people of the country.
Last Monday, the Ministry of Health (MOH), through the GHS, issued a note to all health facilities to be on alert for the disease.
The alert ordered all regional, district and local health institutions to initiate Ebola virus disease preparedness and response plans.
Signed by the CEO, all regional and district public health emergency management committees were to put the disease on their agendas.
Speaking to Dr Kuma-Aboagye in a telephone interview in Accra last Thursday, he said that with the outbreak in Guinea, it became necessary for Ghana to be on high alert for the disease to penetrate. not in the country.
According to him, although the land and sea borders have been closed, the current situation of the country’s porous borders makes it difficult to stop the disease and, therefore, the need to remain on high alert.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye explained that the high alert on Ebola meant that health facilities had to identify places of isolation and treatment if they were faced with the disease.
He said that at present, isolation centers built in Tema and Tamale during the 2013-2015 Ebola outbreak, and one recently completed in Takoradi, were being used for the treatment of COVID- 19.
Isolation centers
The CEO said that since the Ebola and COVID-19 cases cannot be treated together, there is a need for health facilities to identify different areas of Ebola isolation if a Ghanaian has contracted the disease.
He said there was a need for everyone to be on high alert because Ebola and COVID-19 had similar symptoms and could be controlled with the same prevention methods as hand washing, without hugging or shaking hands. hands and use a hand sanitizer.
He reminded people to refrain from eating bushmeat, as it was known to be one of the main sources of disease transmission to humans.
He gave assurance that the country’s health staff had been properly trained in the management of infectious diseases and, therefore, were able to deal with any Ebola situation when needed. Media warning He called on the media to be cautious in their reporting and not to sow fear and panic among the population.
Background
Between 2013 and 2016, an outbreak of the disease in some West African countries saw some 28,000 recorded cases and 11,300 deaths.
This epidemic started in Guinea, then spread across land borders to other countries. Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea were the main countries with recorded cases, while Ghana and some other neighboring countries were kept on red alert due to proximity, cross-border trade and movement of people. During the period, Ghana recorded no cases of the virus.
[ad_2]
Source link
