This is according to the Head of Surveillance at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Asiedu Bekoe.

[contextly_sidebar id=”i9PM5C4O2zXbKUf7dgsUWEZlGnu3VM6D”]The vaccines were expected to arrive in the country over the weekend but delayed.

Confirming the latest development to Citi News, Dr. Bekoe said: “As far as we are concerned, it is suppose to come today [Wednesday], so hopefully they will get it as early as possible. WHO and the Ministry are going to get it cleared, so we give it to the students as early as possible. “

The H1N1 flu has been detected in at least a dozen students of Kumasi Academy in the Ashanti Region, where four students are suspected to have died from it.

The school’s students and staff were administered some other antiviral agents, and the school was also fumigated, following the detection of the swine flu.

Apart from the suspected outbreak of swine flu at Kumasi Academy, a death from meningitis was recorded at the Koforidua Secondary Technical School in the Eastern Region.

Other meningitis deaths were recorded at the Damango Senior High School in the Northern Region and the Bawku Secondary Technical, Zuarungu SHS, and the Tempane SHS both in the Upper East Region.

Response action

The Health Ministry in a statement released a few days ago outlined measures it had taken to prevent a further spread of the disease .

These measures are listed below :
1. Alert has been sent to all health facilities for heightened awareness, early case detection and improved case management.
2. Enhanced surveillance in all the schools and communities.
3. Public education is ongoing.
4. Contact tracing initiated and ongoing.
5. National Technical Coordinating Committee (NTCC), Regional and District Public Health Emergency Management Committees activated.
6. Vaccines and more antivirals for H1N1 arranged for.
7. Initiated process to enhance School Health
8. Designating a hospital to each second cycle institution.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Swine flu vaccines to arrive today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to her, the public education will help calm the fears of the persons who had become alarmed over the number of student deaths recorded at the school due to the viral infection.

[contextly_sidebar id=”M4DCbYN2sTZGWedYvDexFG3SHuuQesQg”]Speaking to Citi News, she explained that when the public is better informed about the condition, they can effectively protect themselves from being infected.

“We need to put messages out there because there is still work to be done now that we have identified that there is an H1N1 outbreak. People need to be educated about hand-washing, about covering their mouth and nose when sneezing, and avoiding crowded places when you have symptoms ”she said.

Prof. Irene Agyapong further commended the regional health directorate for their swift response to the situation at the school.

“I think they have done what they should do, they quickly put a team together, they establish there is an outbreak, they have verified the diagnoses and in a few days they have come out to confirm it is H1N1,” she noted.

It emerged on Thursday that out of the 19 samples sent to the Noguchi Memorial Institute from the Kumasi Academy in the Ashanti Region, 12 tested positive for influenza type A.

The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu who made the announcement said reports on further tests received confirmed Influenza type-A H1N1 2009 [Otherwise known as Swine Flu], pandemic strain.

The tests became necessary following what many have called mysterious deaths involving four students of the school in the past week.

Four other students had died earlier in 2017, bringing the total number of deaths to eight students.

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

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

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.

Some symptoms of the disease include; sudden onset of fever, cough, headaches, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise, sore throat and a runny nose.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post KUMACA deaths: Education needed to calm fears – Health officer appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.