The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has put Ghana on a high alert, following an outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus Diseases (EVD) in Guinea.
The alert is to both managers of health facilities who have been directed to initiate response protocols for the EVD, and the general public who have been told to tighten social distancing and hygiene practices and also look out for carriers of the deadly virus in public places including commercial vehicles.
“…regions, districts, health facilities, ports health units at all border posts, particularly, along the Western border and all landing beaches are to heighten surveillance for EVD using the standard case definition,” a statement signed by the Director-General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Aboagye, said.
It also asked all Regional and District Public Health Emergency Management Committees to include EVD in their agenda.
The statement cautioned the public to also avoid contact with animals and also desist from eating meat from game catches, also known as bushmeat.
The warning is coming in the wake of an outbreak of the deadly disease in Guinea, which shares a border with Ghana’s immediate Western neighbor, Cote d’Ivoire.
At least seven people have been confirmed with EVD infection in Guinea with three dying of the disease.
An extremely contagious viral disease, Ebola has similar symptoms with most viral diseases including fever, vomiting, and weakness in the joints. However, in addition to this, it also causes nose, gum and vaginal bleeding in victims before it eventually shuts down organs.
It is mainly transmitted through bodily fluids of infected persons such as saliva, blood, sweat and faeces.
It has a fatality rate of about 50% with survivors often developing medical complications even after cure.
In 2013, some 11,000 of about 20,000 that had been infected by the disease in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone died.