Ghana Is Under Serious Threat Of Contracting Ebola If…

Date published: August 18, 2014

By Mohammed Awal (awalm19@gmail.com)

Ghana is under serious threat of contracting the deadly Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) if extraordinary measures were not taken by all and sundry to ensure that it does not spread into the country, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has warned.

According to its Deputy Director in-charge of disease control, Dr. Kyei Faried, the EVD was a “deadly disease” but “preventable” if the necessary precautionary measures were adhered to diligently.

“The Ebola case is no joke” Dr. Faried cautioned, noting that the outbreak in neighboring countries must be confronted with all the seriousness it deserved.

Effective measures had been put in place for the treatment of a possible EVD in Ghana, he noted, but “an effective leadership at all level is the main tool for dealing with the Ebola in the country.”

He was speaking at the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) awareness week launch last week Friday, in Accra.

Outbreak vastly underestimated

The scale of the Ebola outbreak appears to be “vastly underestimated”, the UN’s health agency says, as the death toll from the disease reaches 1,069.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said its staff had seen evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths do not reflect the scale of the crisis.

Also Doctors without Borders likened the situation to a state of war and said the outbreak could last six more months.

“We’re running behind a train that is going forward,” Joanne Liu, the medical charity’s international president, told reporters in Geneva on Friday. “And it literally is faster than what we’re bringing in terms of a response.”

WHO said in a statement that “extraordinary measures” were needed to curtail the outbreak.

A vicious killer

Ebola can torment its victims with high fevers, internal and external bleeding, vomiting and diarrhea. It often afflicts multiple organ systems and can kill up to 90% of those infected. The virus spreads through contact with organs and bodily fluids such as blood, saliva and urine.

Since the current Ebola epidemic was declared in Guinea in March, the disease has spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. And the impact has spread around the world.