Lassa Fever: GHS urges public not to panic following confirmed case 

The Medical Director of the Tema General Hospital, Dr. Kwabena Opoku Adusei has assured residents of Tema of no cause for alarm with the recorded case of Lassa fever at the Tema General Hospital. 

He said the medical team at the Infectious Disease Center, formerly the Ebola center is on top of issues should there be another recorded case. 

Speaking to Radio Ghana, Dr.Opoku Adusei said although a patient died of the fever, he received urgent medical care. 

Dr. Opoku Adusei said the surveillance team which is in charge of following up with families of cases such as this, will visit the family of the patient who died of the Lassa fever and ensure that they are thoroughly screened for the disease.

All the frontline staff at the hospital that handled the patient before he died, are  being screened, while further investigations to trace the background and all contacts of the deceasedare being pursued to prevent the spread of the virus.  

Dr Nsiah-Asare however dispelled the fears of the public, saying the Ghana Health Service has put in place interventions to control the spread of the disease and had maintained high surveillance and issued alerts to all health institutions across the country. 

He therefore advised the public not to resort to self-medication when they suspect fever or any form of illness, but to report immediately to the nearest health facility for appropriate diagnosis and treatment.   

The Director-General however reiterated an earlier appeal to the public to observe high environmental hygiene, to prevent the breeding of rodents, especially rats, who are  the carriers of the virus, from entering their homes to contaminate food and  liquids, and to be extremely cautious getting into contact with their droplets and urine.  

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic fever which is endemic in West Africa, and it is transmitted by contact with infected rodents, especially rats.  

The Ghana Health Service in February 2018 issued an alert to all health facilities of the likelihood of an outbreak of Lassa fever in the country, following confirmed cases and deaths in some countries in West Africa, including Nigeria.

SOURCE: GNA
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