Strange disease: GHS issues health alert

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has alerted the public on a strange disease and says its disease surveillance system remains active to detect any unusual event.

It follows the death of 11 people in Liberia from the strange disease with nine others infected.

The symptoms reported by the victims mainly are headache, weakness, diarrhoea, vomiting, mental confusion, abnormal pain, and fever.

Speaking to Class News, the Head of Surveillance at the GHS, Dr Franklin Asiedu Bekoe, said the so called strange disease turned out to be a case of meningitis which is no longer active.

He said that notwithstanding, surveillance remains high at the country’s entry points.

“If you travel quite a lot you realise that Ghana since the past two years has constantly maintained this infrared thermometer at the airport. And that thermometer is there to detect high temperature of more than 38 degrees and Ghana is one of few countries that does that. So if you are entering Ghana and your temperature is very high it will be detected. So we have a system situated at the port of entry that will detect any fevers above 38 degree Celsius,” Mr Bekoe stated.

He added: “In-country, we have a structure that has been built from the community level and the regions. I won’t say it’s foolproof but it is able to detect unusual events. Currently, we are trying to go by the one health one, one step. In the community level, we are trying to train our volunteers that persons who will come with unusual sickness will be reported to the system.”