Report symptoms of cold or catarrh to health facilities

Paga, (UER) May 5, GNA - The Upper East Regional Health Directorate on Tuesday urged the public, especially those who get in contact with foreigners, to report any symptoms of cold or catarrh to health institutions for tests and treatment. "Immediate tests done would ascertain whether one is infected with the swine flu and steps can be taken to give the right treatment and also prevent its spread."

Dr. James Akpabilie, Deputy Director, Public Health, made the call at Paga, a border town in the Upper East Region where the Regional Health Directorate organized a public forum to sensitize the people on the swine flu outbreak, especially how to prevent infection. He explained that the disease was new and had not infected anybody yet and so people did not have the immunity to resist it, most especially, children and the elderly. He advised that people should limit shaking hands and also wash their hands thoroughly and frequently during the day. He said the symptoms that manifests like the common cold could start showing after 24 hours contact with an infected person and cautioned all who work at the border to look out for foreigners who have fever, cough and are sneezing often and to direct such persons to a health facility. "The disease is highly contagious and can spread to members of the family within a short time, so I would like to stress that you do not rely on drug stores to cure a stubborn cold but seek medical attention," he said.

Dr. Koku Awoonor Williams, Regional Health Director, explained that even though the test could only be done at the Noguchie Memorial Research Centre, the region had the basic logistics to take care of infected persons and had made provisions for quarantine should the need arise. Later, at a meeting with the Port Health personnel, Immigration Officers and personnel of Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr. Mark Woyongo, Regional Minister, asked them to collaborate in their work and look out for any suspicious infections and report such cases to the hospital. He advised them to get in touch with their colleagues in neighbouring Burkina Faso so they could exchange information on the situation on both sides of the border. Reports on the swine flu say that it has been found to spread mainly among human beings and can easily spread from one country to the other as humans move around.