According to the Service, qualified persons have been trained and put on alert for this virus as was done for Ebola virus in 2014.

[contextly_sidebar id=”VZMqt45tCltwAwi8pvonf2kgmqmRtdoN”]This follows an emergency health alert issued by the Service, following an outbreak of the Dengue fever in Burkina Faso.

The Western Regional Health Director, Dr. Emmanuel Kojo Tenkrang, spoke to Citi News and assured that, “Ghana has a very strong surveillance system. The surveillance systems that we have in this country are able to detect an outbreak so if you go into our communities, we have the community surveillance volunteers.”

“If you remember what we did during the Ebola outbreak, it is the same thing. So at the community level, we have a surveillance team. At the sub-district level. We have a surveillance team. At the regional level and national level, there is also a surveillance team.”

In a worst case scenario, Dr. Tenkrang noted that, “we may get one or two cases but it won’t escalate as we are having in other countries.”

About Dengue

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has rapidly spread in all regions of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in recent years.

The infection causes flu-like illness, and occasionally develops into a potentially lethal complication called severe Dengue.

According to WHO, the global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. About half of the world’s population is now at risk. Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.

Severe Dengue (also known as Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever) was first recognized in the 1950s during dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand.

Today, severe dengue affects most Asian and Latin American countries and has become a leading cause of hospitalization and death among children and adults in these regions.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Surveillance in place to prevent outbreak of Dengue fever – Health Service appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“The Ghana Health Service has received notification and alert of Dengue Fever alert in Burkina Faso from WHO country office. By copy of this mail, please be informed and keep alert. Kindly enhance surveillance and update your respective preparedness and response plans for Dengue and other abro viruses,” a statement from the Service said.

The Health Service further indicated that, it has been notified by the World Health Organization (WHO) about the dangers of the outbreak.

Dengue fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses.

These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

An estimated 390 million dengue infections occur worldwide each year, with about 96 million resulting in illness.

Most cases occur in tropical areas of the world, with the greatest risk occurring in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Southern China, Taiwan, the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean (except Cuba and the Cayman Islands), Mexico,Africa and Central and South America (except Chile, Paraguay, and Argentina).

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Alert: Health Service warns of Dengue fever appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.