Kwaku Agyemang-Manu – Minister of Health
The Ministry of Health has indicated that the delivery of vaccines for the H1N1 Influenza Type A to various schools will delay.
The vaccines were expected to arrive over the weekend, but the Ministry in a press statement said suppliers had indicated that there will be a slight delay in the delivery.
“The Ministry of Health with the support of the World Health Organisation, WHO, have procured vaccines and have taken steps to airlift them to Ghana for urgent use.
The Ministry says inasmuch as efforts are being made to facilitate the process, the supplier has indicated that there will be a slight delay in delivery.
“It is expected that; the vaccine will arrive in Accra by the middle of next week. The Ministry of Health and WHO are closely following up to ensure this is expedited. The vaccines will be immediately deployed for immediate use on arrival. We will keep you updated on any new development,” the statement said.
Apart from the vaccines, the country was also expected to take delivery of the anti-viral agents Tamiflu from the World Health Organization, as part of measures to combat the threat of the disease.
The drug, Tamiflu, was given to tens of thousands of people during the swine flu pandemic in 2009.
The disease has been detected in at least a dozen students of Kumasi Academy in the Ashanti Region, where four students are suspected to have died from it.
The school’s students and staff were administered some other antiviral agents, and the school was also fumigated, following the detection of the swine flu.
Aside from the suspected outbreak of swine flu at Kumasi Academy, a death from meningitis was recorded at the Koforidua Secondary Technical School in the Eastern Region.
Other meningitis deaths were recorded at the Damango Senior High School in the Northern Region and the Bawku Secondary Technical and Tempane SHS both in the Upper East Region.
Response action
The Ministry in the statement also outlined measures it had taken to prevent a further spread of the disease .
These measures are listed below :
1. Alert has been sent to all health facilities for heightened awareness, early case detection and improved case management.
2. Enhanced surveillance in all the schools and communities.
3. Public education is ongoing.
4. Contact tracing initiated and ongoing.
5. National Technical Coordinating Committee (NTCC), Regional and District Public Health Emergency Management Committees activated.
6. Vaccines and more antivirals for H1N1 arranged for.
7. Initiated process to enhance School Health
8. Designating a hospital to each second cycle institution.
-Citifmonline