By Francis Kobena Tandoh
Ghana has initiated protocols to screen all passengers from high-risk Ebola regions, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said on Tuesday.
According to the minister, the West African country has put in place effective measures at the Accra International Airport (AIA) and its land borders to prevent an infected person from entering Ghana without being detected.
He emphasized that diseases have no borders, hence the decision of the Ghanaian authorities to be alert to protect the public.
“Let us not think that Ebola is far from us; diseases have no borders. All passengers from Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be screened at the Accra International Airport alongside other passengers, though the focus is on those from the high-risk regions,” he said on an Accra-based radio station.
The Ghanaian health minister stressed that the protocols being observed at the airport will be replicated in the country’s land borders.
Akandoh assured that the country is ready to contain the disease should it be detected in Ghana.
“Ghana has all that it takes to manage the disease in case it is detected in the country,” added the minister.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on May 15, and the World Health Organization (WHO) swiftly declared it a public health emergency of international concern.
The WHO, as of Tuesday, has confirmed 116 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola and 321 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
So far, there have been 41 deaths and six people have recovered, while in Uganda there have been nine confirmed cases and one associated death. Enditem
Source: Ghana Eye Report
