Our children didn’t die from swine flu – Parents speak on KUMACA deaths

Some parents who “mysteriously” lost their wards at the Kumasi Academy Senior High School (KUMACA) are contesting claims by the Ministry of Health that they died as a result of swine flu outbreak.

They claimed reports given to them by hospital officials do not suggest that their children died from the swine flu virus.

The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu told a press conference in Accra on Thursday that 12 out of the 19 cases sent to Noguchi Memorial Institute tested positive for the Influenza type A virus popularly known as swine flu, suggesting the four students who died in the school since last week was caused by the virus.

But the mother of one of the deceased students, Olivia Agyemang, says the postmortem conducted on her son at KNUST Hospital shows “severe pneumonia” as the cause of his death.

According to her, the report also shows “multiple extensive peculiar bleeding”. Mrs Olivia does not believe her 15-year-old Carlos Ofori, died from H1N1 influenza because she witnessed the postmortem process and saw extensive bleeding in her son.

Another bereaved mother, Aunty Yaa also insisted that her son did not die from swine flu because a postmortem conducted at KATH indicated “breath seizure”. She said her son, 17-year-old Livingston Fordjour Ferguson complained of feverishness when he came home and was sent to Tafo Government Hospital.

He was later referred to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where he died. The bereaved parents say negligence on the part of the school authorities led to the untimely death of their children.

They blamed school authorities for not being proactive in handling the case.

Meanwhile, the Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says the families who lost their wards as a result of the outbreak would be given GHS5,000 cedis each to start the funeral preparation.