General News of Monday, 16 August 2021
Source: 3news.com
2021-08-16
Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye
Following the outbreak of Ebola and Marburg Virus in neighbouring Ivory Coast and Guinea respectively, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has intensified measures including surveillance to ensure they do not enter the country.
Ivory Coast announced the outbreak of Ebola in the country on Saturday, August 14, 2021 and on August 9, 2021 Guinea also announced the outbreak of Marburg
Addressing the press on Sunday August 15, Director General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye said “The Ghana Health Service and its partners have activated our systems since the onset. We have structures for all our rapid response at the borders, and they have been alerted with the fact about both Ebola and Marburg. Alerts have been sent to the regions and the district about the Marburg operation.
“The Ebola one will be leaving today, but we have started discussions with all our regional leaders, so they start preparations for that. The good thing is that some interventions that are currently in place can also be used to respond to this. Ghana has the capacity to test such cases at Noguchi for both the Ebola and Marburg disease.
“Public education and sensitization have already been initiated”, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said at a media engagement on Sunday.
He said surveillance on the country’s western border, in particular, will be strengthened.
“We are going to heighten the public health surveillance at our borders, especially the Western border where we have Ivory Coast and countries where we have discovered the virus. Currently, the borders are closed, we have to ensure that those necessary checks are done for those who will enter illegally.
“So we are currently collaborating with the Immigration Service to ensure that these things are sorted out. We are equipping our port health staff, so they can screen and look at that.,”