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He said Ghana had put in place a national pandemic influenza action plan and had been working in collaboration with WHO to procure drugs as well as trained clinicians and laboratory technical in all the 10 regions to manage the situation in case of an outbreak of the influenza.
The patient involved is a young lady who walked to a medical facility with mild symptoms of influenza after catching cold from her brother who had arrived from the
Dr. Kumbuor said the family was now under surveillance while the patient was currently doing well.
The pandemic influenza H1N1 2009 is caused by a virus that affects the respiratory system and typically spreads through coughs and sneezes or by touching contaminated surfaces.
Symptoms, which can last up to a week, are similar to those of seasonal flu, and may include fever, sneezing, sore throat, coughs, headaches, and muscle or joint pains. Complications of the disease include pneumonia and difficulty in breathing.
The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says most cases worldwide have been mild so far and most hospitalizations and deaths have been of persons that had underlying conditions such as asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or a weakened immune system.
Dr. Kumbuor said the national plan, which include daily meetings of all technical committees at the national level, intensification of public education and surveillance for early detection of other cases and a directive to all health facilities both public and private to be ready to receive and manage patients have been activated.
The Deputy Minister mentioned regular hand washing with soap and water, hand rubbing with alcohol, keeping a distance from the infected person and wearing of protected clothing for those taking care of patients as some of the measures to stop the spread of the virus
Source: Ghana News Agency