The Ministry of Health has as part of measures to curtail the increasing cases of meningitis affecting second cycle students in the country has ordered for vaccines.
The Public Relations Officer of the Health Ministry, Robert Cudjoe, who disclosed this on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen Wednesday, said when the vaccines arrive in the country, they will go through processes before they are administered.
An outbreak of Acute Respiratory Illness (H1N1) with severe presentations and some resultant deaths was confirmed after the illness affected some students of the Kumasi Academy Senior High School (KUMACA).
Government officials say the outbreak began on November 30, 2017 and, as at Wednesday, December 6, a total of 44 cases including four deaths have been reported.
Of the 19 lab samples from KUMACA sent to Noguchi, 12 tested Positive for Influenza Type-A, while report on further tests received in the evening of Thursday, have confirmed Influenza Type-A H1N1 2009 pandemic strain.
The situation has now resulted in an attack rate of 14/1,000 population with a case fatality rate of 9.1 per cent, Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Minister of Health, said.
Addressing a joint press conference involving the Ministries of Health and Education, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ghana Education Service, Mr Agyemang-Manu said similar deaths that occurred in April 2017 at the same school had turned out to be caused by Meningitis Type C.
But Mr. Cudjoe indicated that as part of the response measures, the Team, with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO), would take immediate steps to access vaccines and enhance school health at KUMACA and the entire nation.
He said the Ghana Health Service (GHS) is expected to take delivery of 10,000 vaccines explaining that they decided to take in delivery of 10,000 because the outbreak is a “localized” one.
The vaccines, he noted are expected to arrive in the country by Monday adding that they would be stored in warehouses at various medical stores in the country.
Source: Adomonline.com/Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy
Ministry of Health orders meningitis vaccines
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