The medication in question, o.9% Normal Saline, is believed to have been contaminated after being used multiple times, according to a statement from the FDA.

[contextly_sidebar id=”HwoIKeXY2LeKr7ke8tlOngIzQ8IFVful”]The deceased include a 31-year-old man, a 42-year-old woman and a 78-year-old man.

The deceased persons suffered “adverse reactions described as injection site abscess, skin necrosis and ulcers leading to the deaths,” the FDA said.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that these reactions may be due to contaminated 0.9% Normal Saline, the solution which was used to reconstitute (mix) the Benzathine Penicillin Powder for Injection. The 0.9% Normal Saline Solution was reported to have been opened and used repeatedly for several days which might have resulted in the contamination,” the statement from the FDA explained.

The FDA has also dispatched a team to Akrade to investigate the issue in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service.

The Director of Public Health at Ghana Health Service, Dr. Badu Sarkodie earlier confirmed the developments to Citi News and said the service was in the process of compiling a situational report.

Find below the full FDA statement

SERIOUS ADVERSE REACTION REPORTS, NEW SENCHI HEALTH CENTRE, AKRADE

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has become aware of serious adverse reactions described as injection site abscess, skin necrosis and ulcers leading to the deaths of three (3) patients who had injections of Benzathine Penicillin from the New Senchi Health Centre at Akrade in the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern region. These serious adverse reactions were reported during the 3rd week of March 2018.

Preliminary investigations revealed that these reactions may be due to contaminated 0.9% Normal Saline, the solution which was used to reconstitute (mix) the Benzathine Penicillin Powder for Injection. The 0.9% Normal Saline Solution was reported to have been opened and used repeatedly for several days which might have resulted in the contamination.

Benzathine Penicillin is presented as powder for Injection and should be reconstituted with STERILE water for injection and also used immediately to avoid contamination.

The FDA has dispatched the Pharmacovigilance team from the Eastern Regional Office to Akradie to investigate the issue in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Meanwhile, healthcare professionals and consumers are encouraged to be vigilant and report untoward effects of medicines and health products to the FDA by completing adverse reaction reporting forms provided in hospitals and Community Pharmacies designated as Patient Safety Centres across the country or through the contacts below:

HOTLINES – 0299802932, 0299802933,

TOLL FREE NUMBER – 0800151000 (free only on Airtel and Vodafone)

SMS SHORTCODE – 4015

SIGNED

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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

The post ‘Contaminated’ drugs possible cause of injection deaths – FDA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Two others are also in critical condition.

The Director of Public Health at Ghana Health Service, Dr. Badu Sarkodie confirmed the developments to Citi News and said the service was in the process of compiling a situational report.

“They have recorded some deaths over the past few weeks, I think since [March] 13 or so, and now the team is on the field going to see what is happening so we have to wait for a report from them first,” Dr. Badu Sarkodie said.

Account of affected family

The account of a family member of one of the deceased persons suggested that there may have been some negligence from a health professional.

The family member, Hajia Hawa Amidu, said her 78-year-old uncle reacted terribly to the injection which he had objected to, leading to his death on March 26.

She added that her uncle had visited the hospital for treatment of a skin condition and was given the injection by the health officer on duty.

“When he went to take the third [injection], he was telling the [health officer not to do it] but before he could finish telling the man, they injected on the swollen place again. So when they came home, the daughter went to the clinic to go and tell them what happened to the father and they told them to go and come back on Thursday.

“But when the man came back, the condition was just deteriorating so they had to take him to Akuse hospital and he died there,” Hajia Hawa Amidu narrated.

The other deceased persons include a 31-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman.

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By: Marie-Franz Fodjoe/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post E/R: GHS probes mysterious deaths from injections appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Service, the victim of the extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis has been confirmed dead.

[contextly_sidebar id=”LHzKtiBNFWJ2oL6GcgJdlgFWkoz1MgmI”]The rare type of TB known as XDR TB does not respond to standard treatment with first-line anti-TB drugs, and can take up to two years or more to treat with drugs that are less potent, more toxic and much more expensive.

Speaking at a media sensitization programme on Tuberculosis on Friday, Manager of the TB Control Programme at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Frank Bonsu, called for a concerted effort to fight the emerging threat.

“We need leaders to fight the menace which is coming to Ghana, the drug-resistant TB, I am not proud to announce to you that Ghana has reported its first case of XDR TB, the TB is resistance to all known treatment,” he said.

According to him, attention needs to be paid to XDR TB  before it becomes an epidemic.

“If we don’t contain and this breaks down as an epidemic we are finished as a country,”he said.

He said as a preventive exercise, relative and neighbours of the deceased will be examined to make sure they have not been affected, whiles Ghanaians would be educated on world TB day on 22^nd March about the disease.

Dr. Ofosu said the regional health directorate was working harder to cases of Tuberculosis.

He admitted that the disease had remained a major public health concern globally as current efforts to reach, treat and cure everyone who got ill with the disease had not been sufficient though it is curable.

The Regional Health Director said drugs for Tuberculosis treatment were available in all government hospitals and some Mission Hospitals, as well as accredited private hospitals and were absolutely free.

“It is not a curse nor a hereditary condition and traditional medicine have not proven to cure Tuberculosis”, he explained, and urged people to seek medical treatment when they are diagnosed with the disease.

Dr. Ofosu said in 2014, 9.6 million people fell ill with Tuberculosis, and of this figure, 1.2 million of them also had HIV, ranking Tuberculosis alongside HIV and AIDS as the leading cause of death worldwide.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He said these aggrieved graduates cannot expect the government to employ when there is no budgetary allocation for them.

[contextly_sidebar id=”IeumJtOkg2du3bnU6cFPygW9wLB3qVLN”]”There is nowhere in the world that somebody finishes school and says I am going to picket, sleep at the Ministry of Health and force them to take me whether they can pay me or cannot pay me.”

“…You don’t employ somebody if you don’t have money to pay or if the money is not readily available. If the person comes to work and you don’t pay the person, that one I will agree if the person comes to sleep and picket at the place where he was employed. If you are not being employed, why do you go and picket at the ministry’s car park? Is it done anywhere?” Dr. Nsiah-Asare said on Eyewitness News’ Point Blank segment.

Different classes of health professional graduates spanning as far back as 2015, have trooped to the Ministry of Health to demand clearance for posting into state health installations.

Most recently, in February, police personnel had to forcibly evict some 200 unemployed graduate nurses who pitched camp at the Health Ministry.

The government said it had provided financial clearance to 541 healthcare professionals who are expected to start work this March.

The government has also urged the graduate nurses to stop picketing at the Health Ministry as plans are far advanced to employ about 27,000 nurses.

More assurances

Dr. Nsiah-Asare reiterated the government’s commitment to the nurses and assured that more nurses will be employed by 2018 ending.

“We have use for every single nurse that has been trained in this country. We haven’t reached our nurse-to-population ration but because of our physical constraints… unfortunately, in this country, the government is the biggest employer of health professionals.”

He reminded that the “government took on over 16,000 or so nurses” and this year, the service “has put in the budgetary allocation to also employ nurses.”

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

The post You can’t force MoH to post you – GHS to picketing graduates appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Health facilities from CHPS compound to higher institutions must create a small holding place to observe patients and take their samples for testing.

Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, Director-General of the GHS, gave the directive when he paid a working visit to the Tema General Hospital, the first health facility to record a Lassa Fever case in Ghana.

[contextly_sidebar id=”owtdfqMZZVSZKMSyKvqgXvZeLklcaMRW”]The Director General added that, the hospitals after isolating the suspected patient, should immediately report the case to the respective supervising district health directorate for a management team to be dispatched to the place for assessment.

The team he stated, would provide the needed transportation when the need to refer to the infectious centre arises.

The directive is to curb the unnecessary spread of the disease through transporting and handling of a suspected patients from one hospital to the other.

Dr. Asare said even though TGH has the only working infectious disease centre, transferring suspected Lassa fever case to Tema could lead to a spread of the disease.

He explained that due to the lack of proper health transportation for referred patients, the probability of spreading the disease through referral was high.

“A referred suspected patient can vomit in the taxi which will end up at the washing bay and subsequently spread the disease to others as the driver does not know what sickness the patient is suffering from”, he noted.

Dr. Asare indicated that other measures put in place to ensure the containment of the disease included temperature checking of people at the country’s entry points.

He added that the 32 Ghanaian health officials who helped in the control of Ebola in Liberia were also being contacted to help prevent the spread of Lassa Fever in Ghana.

He commended the TGH for effectively diagnosing and holding the deceased Lassa Fever patient, and assured that health officials of the hospital who worked on the patient were being monitored.

The Director -General said plans were underway to make the hospital a secondary referral point especially for infectious disease.

Dr. John Yabani, Tema Metropolitan Health Director, in a welcome address, thanked the Director-General and his entourage for visiting the hospital to assure health officials of their support.

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Source: GNA

The post Don’t refer suspected Lassa Fever cases – Hospitals told appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The alert urged the various health institutions to enhance surveillance for Lassa fever and Acute Haemorrhagic Fevers in general.

This alert follows the outbreak of the fever in Nigeria which has claimed 31 lives.

“The Ministry of Health of Nigeria has confirmed and subsequently declared Lassa fever outbreak which has affected about 18 states with over 300 cases and 31 deaths. The outbreak has been on-going for the past six weeks and has necessitated urgent spontaneous national response actions among all neighbouring countries. Lassa fever outbreak has been recurrent in Nigeria and the current outbreak has affected health workers in some states,” the alert stated.

Among other recommendations, the Health Service noted that suspected cases must be treated in isolation and advised health workers to adhere to regular Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures to prevent and protect against possible transmission.

General information on Lass fever

Lassa fever is an Acute Viral Haemorrhagic Fever illness which is endemic in the West Africa. The incubation period is 6-21 days.

The onset of the fever has non-specific signs and symptoms but fever, general weakness and malaise have been noted in its early stages.

This is followed by headaches, sore throat, muscle pain, chest pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pains.

Severe cases may progress to show facial swelling, and bleeding.

Shock, seizures, disorientation, and coma may be seen in the late stages.

About 80 % of Lassa Fever infections are mild or asymptomatic.

Find below the full Ghana Health Service alert.

ALL RDHS, GHS

ALL CEOs, TEACHING HOSPITALS

LASSA FEVER ALERT

The Ministry of Health of Nigeria has confirmed and subsequently declared Lassa fever outbreak which has affected about 18 states with over 300 cases and 31 deaths. The outbreak has been on-going for the past six weeks and has necessitated urgent spontaneous national response actions among all neighbouring countries. Lassa fever outbreak has been recurrent in Nigeria and the current outbreak has affected health workers in some states.

We respectfully request the Regional Directors of Health Services and CEOs of Teaching Hospitals to ensure this Alert Message reaches all health workers in the respective Regions, Districts and Hospitals, including the Mission and Private Facilities.

We further request the Regional Directors of Health Services to initiate process to create public awareness on Lassa Fever.

We recommend the following to all health workers and institutions:

1. Surveillance on Lassa fever and Acute Haemorrhagic Fevers in general (using case definitions) should be enhanced.
2. Suspected cases of Lassa fever should be managed in specific isolation conditions
3. Health workers should adhere to regular Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures to prevent and protect against possible nosocomial transmission
4. Blood sample from suspected case(s) should be taken and safely packaged and sent to Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) for laboratory investigations
5. All levels (National, Regions, Districts and Facilities) are requested to update their preparedness and response plans for Lassa fever and VHF in general, sensitize the respective staff and create necessary public awareness.
6. Attached are general information on Lassa fever

We count very on your highest professional conduct, maximum cooperation and support to prevent, early detect and respond to any emergence or re-emergence of Lassa fever and any other infectious diseases.

DR ANTHONY NSIAH-ASARE

DIRECTOR GENERAL, GHANA HEALTH SERVICE

CC: ALL DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS, GHS HQ

” ALL REGIONAL DEPUTY DIRECTORS, PH & CLINICAL CARE

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

The post GHS issues Lassa fever alert after 31 die in Nigeria outbreak appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Teshie camp 2 facility was completed in 2016, however, it has not been put to use by the Assembly, leaving residents with no option than to seek medical attention at alternative facilities.

Citi News gatherered that the facility, worth GH¢320,000, had been abandoned due to delay in the procurement of medical equipment for the use of health professionals.

Although budget had been drawn for the procurement of the equipment some six months ago, funds seem not to have been raised to purchase them.

However, the Assembly found funds from other sources to construct the new facility which is almost complete.

See photos of the new facility below:

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By: Anas Seidu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Nungua: Completed Teshie CHPS compound abandoned; new one constructed nearby appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei-Owusu, was of the view that, some officials who were complicit in the improper disposal of the said vehicles were not given appropriate sanctions.

[contextly_sidebar id=”zYcoLnhVEPZ3XxaaTAlrmXhxxnpgJUKG”]The Committee has been asked to go back, and re-work the report with stiffer sanctions and recommendations.

In April 2017, the two institutions together with the auctioneers who disposed off the vehicles, some for as low as GHc 1,000, faced the Committee to explain the infractions as captured in the Auditor General’s report.

“Some breaches of the law have occurred. Recommendations must be made in respect of those. Some public officials were negligent or non-compliant of the law. That is why I am directing that the report comes back to Committee. All that is outstanding, the Committee should [address] and report back.”

“I direct that the report goes back to the Committee for other recommendations… the report may have made the observation, but the conclusions are not sufficient,” Mr. Osei-Owusu said.

Background

In April 2017, the Public Accounts Committee slammed officials of the MoFA and an auctioneer to the ministry for contravening the auction laws when 24 vehicles were sold to staff of the ministry at ridiculously low prices.

The auctioneer, Alex Adjei, side-stepped all the laws governing the proper disposal of government vehicles and disposed off the vehicles, mostly double-cabin pickups, to the staff of the ministry and pocketed GHc33,203 as his 7% commission on the sale of the vehicles.

Some of the vehicles were auctioned for GHc1,000 each.

PAC also indicted the Ghana Health Service for failing to pay more than GH¢61,000 from the auction of nine vehicles into a non-tax revenue account since 2014, as required by the Financial Administration Act.

The said amount was reportedly hurriedly paid into the account days to the sitting and subsequent indictment.

PAC had served notice to the GHS to appear before it in respect of the disposal of government vehicles captured in the Performance Audit Report of the Auditor-General for 2015.

According to the regulations on auctions, proceeds from auction sales must be deposited within 24 hours.

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By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post PAC’s ‘soft’ sanctions over auction ‘rot’ at MoFA, GHS rejected appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The death, which is the second in the Eastern Region after one at the Koforidua Secondary Technical School, brings to six the number of meningitis related deaths among students nationwide.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oDHLkQkJ8Eba4VHCk35VRTlWOsW6SJn7″]The student died after complaining of a stiff neck, fever and body pains on Sunday.

A Laboratory test conducted at the Asamankese Government Hospital confirmed he died as a result of meningitis.

The Eastern Regional Disease Control Officer, Sally Emmanuel, said all persons who came into contact with the deceased will remain under surveillance for a minimum of five days.

“As part of public health measures, we have identified people who are likely to have been infected because of their association. Currently, we are talking about records of about 65 people. Again, we are also ensuring that the person comes from a home and has visited home for sometime. Not just staff and students, but also the household where the person had visited was also reached and over there, we got people who were also close to the case and about six people are also under active surveillance to monitor them for a minimum of five days until we are sure they are not developing any symptoms of meningitis before we can let them go. ”

A preliminary report by a medical team at the Damongo District Hospital in the Northern  Region this month, indicated that the death of a student at Damongo Senior High School in the West Gonja District, was caused by non-communicable meningitis.

The Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Charity Sarpong, also confirmed that a second-year science student of Koforidua Technical School, died from Meningitis.

A student of Tempane Senior High School in the Garu-Tempane district of the Upper East Region, and another from the Zuarungu SHS also in Upper East, and one from Bawku  Sec. Tech. have also died from Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CMS).

These have raised concerns over a possible outbreak of the disease after a similar development at the Kumasi Academy in the Ashanti Region, although early medical reports indicate that the students were infected with H1N1 influenza Type A, after the death of four students.

The Ghana Health Service together with the World Health Organization, W.H.O, has procured and administered vaccines to students, teaching and non-teaching staff.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Meningitis kills Asamankese SHS student, 60 under surveillance appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Director of Public Health at GHS, Dr. Badu Sarkodie, despite tests by the Noguchi Memorial Institute indicating that the ailments at the school were caused by Influenza type A, it would be premature to rule out other potential causes as well.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6ErpjnSj41VCNj4wC0H3JjLW7IKgzIHC”]Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, Dr. Badu Sarkodie said that some of the symptoms which had been noticed in the students on admission could indicate the presence of a number of conditions, including Influenza and Meningitis, which had earlier been ruled out.

He added that further tests needed to be carried out on the samples before a definitive cause of death can be determined.

“If somebody should die unfortunately, there are specific changes in the normal anatomy that makes you think that those are the changes that led to the deaths. The bleeding could be Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) which you can also have in the flu and in Meningitis. What are the changes in the body internally which the physical examination may not pick? With the blood samples that were taken to the lab, they should all complement and make the story complete,” he said.

“For now, we have enough information to say that it is the flu that is causing the outbreak. We have one condition in mind but it could be more. As scientists what we say is that let’s study As it happened the other time, we confirmed Meningitis. Now if it happens to be something else or more than one issue, you need to take a detailed assessment.”

Swine flu?

The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu announced on Thursday that, out of 19 samples sent to the Noguchi Memorial Institute from Kumasi Academy 12 tested positive for influenza type A.

According to the Minister, reports on further tests were received confirming Influenza type-A H1N1 2009 [Otherwise known as Swine Flu], pandemic strain.

Officials from the Ghana Health Service had previously ruled meningitis out in the recent deaths and noted that a bacterial infection was likely.

The whole student population have been administered with antibiotics as part of a prophylaxis.

Of the 32 cases on admission 27 had signs of fever, headaches, joint and body pains, coughs abnormal chest signs and auscultation.

The Health Minister also suggested that some of the deaths may have been caused by an outbreak of acute respiratory infections.

Based on findings on respiratory samples sent to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Mr. Agyemang-Manu said there was “an outbreak of an acute respiratory infection with severe presentations and some resulting in death.”

But the Noguchi Memorial Institute’s Director, Professor Kwabena M. Bosompem, said that the research institute is yet to take delivery of autopsy samples from the deceased students.

Speaking to Citi News‘ Caleb Kudah on whether the causes of death at the school had been identified, Prof. Bosompem said: “that I cant say because that is pathology.”

“Some autopsy samples have been collected and are being sent to Noguchi to start investigations. So unless we investigate that and know exactly what is the cause of death, it is not good to speculate.” Prof. Bosompem added.

What does the WHO say about Influenza?

There are three types of seasonal influenza viruses, types A, B, and C, but only influenza type A viruses are known to have caused pandemics.

Placed under the umbrella of seasonal influenza, the World Health Organisation notes that this virus is characterized by a sudden onset of fever, cough, headaches, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise, sore throat and a runny nose.

Most people are said to recover from the fever and other symptoms within a week without requiring medical attention but influenza can cause severe illness or death in people deemed high risk.

Pregnant women, children aged between six to 59 months, the elderly, individuals with specific chronic medical conditions such as HIV/AIDS, asthma, and chronic heart or lung diseases, and health-care workers have the highest risk of contracting the virus, according to WHO.

Vaccination is said to be the most effective way to prevent the disease, even when circulating viruses may not exactly match the vaccine viruses.

It should be noted that the outright cause of death of the four students of the school and the hospitalization of 32 has yet to be fully confirmed.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Cause of KUMACA deaths not yet confirmed – GHS appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.