The Ghana Health Service refutes reports that authorities are concealing news of an Ebola outbreak in the country.
The news comes after another outbreak struck parts the Democratic Republic of Congo, where medical experts are scrambling to contain the virus also known as haemorrhagic fever.
“We want to state emphatically that the report is false and misleading and that there is no such incidence of Ebola in Ghana,” said Director-General Anthony Nsiah-Asare in a statement released Monday. “Ebola is a highly infectious condition such that when there is an outbreak in a community there is no way the National Health System can keep it secret from the public.”
Initial reports of humans contracting Ebola began in England during the 1970s, but the virus made headlines worldwide in 2014, when it swept through parts of West Africa claiming over 11,000 lives. Since then, Ebola has come and gone in waves, with the latest outbreak hitting Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this year and deaths being reported almost daily.
Since the latest outbreak, GHS has intensified their surveillance system and heightened security at Ghana’s points of entries. They ask that the public exercise calm and use resources available to educate themselves about Ebola.
Meanwhile, the Congolese government is working in conjunction with the World Health Organization to prepare vaccinations in high-risk populations. As of May 18th, 26 deaths have been reported, including four confirmed cases in the country’s provincial capital, Mbandaka.
“Vaccination will be key to controlling this outbreak,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
WHO and its partners will need US$26 million to control the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo over the next three months.