{"id":386882,"date":"2017-12-27T15:34:31","date_gmt":"2017-12-27T15:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=386882"},"modified":"2017-12-27T15:41:09","modified_gmt":"2017-12-27T15:41:09","slug":"prisons-service-on-high-alert-over-meningitis-scare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/12\/prisons-service-on-high-alert-over-meningitis-scare\/","title":{"rendered":"Prisons Service on high alert over meningitis scare"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Ghana Prisons Service has issued an alert to some prisons in the country to be on the lookout for possible cases of meningitis.<\/p>\n
Prisons in the Brong-Ahafo and Northern regions are among those advised to be on guard.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”Swxdgl4LYuTTPFwlRRd0p8y53t3wC4nl”]The Public Relations Officer of the Prisons Service, SP Vitalis Aye, told Citi News<\/strong> that the alert was issued to avert a meningitis disaster\u00a0 considering that the infection emerges and spreads fast during the harmattan season.<\/p>\n He however said the service is taking steps to reduce incidents of the disease should they record any in the prisons.<\/p>\n Congestion and heat are some of the major factors that trigger meningitis.<\/p>\n \u201cWe issued an alert that around this time of the year, these things do happen. We have always put measures in place to make sure that though we are overcrowded, we minimize the rate of people getting infected or having a disaster,” he said.<\/p>\n “We ensure that those who visit as much as possible, physical contact is minimized. Again, we create isolation cells, if you are coming to the prisons for the first time, we put you there, we isolate you, we observe you before you are put in the main prison. \u00a0Those who are already inside the prisons, if they are showing signs that are not normal, they are isolated. We go through these protocols to ensure that we don\u2019t have an outbreak, and even if it is there, it is minimized,” he added.<\/p>\n There have been about six deaths resulting from meningitis in the country in the last one month, but these incidents are being considered as isolated.<\/p>\n