Ghana Is Ready To Contain Ebola and Hantavirus - GHS

Ghana is ready to contain any hantavirus and Ebola epidemics, according to the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea. 

The Director- General said that in response to an increase in Ebola cases in some regions of Central and Eastern Africa, the nation has bolstered its readiness mechanisms.

Dr. Kaba Akoriyea made the comments on Monday , May 25, while touring a few medical facilities and entrance points in Accra to evaluate the nation's preparedness for a possible outbreak.

The visits includes stops to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Nyaho Medical Center, Kotoka International Airport, and the Ghana Infectious Disease Center.

Having dealt with both COVID-19 and prior Ebola preparedness exercises, Dr. Kaba Akoriyea assured that Ghana has sufficient experience and protocols in place to manage infectious disease outbreaks.

“So when it comes to preparedness, we are ready, we are prepared. And when it comes to all the phases of preparedness, sample transportation, case detection, treatment of cases and risk communication, we are very ready because we have personnel with experience managing Ebola and COVID,” he stated.

He clarified that health authorities had already stepped up preparations due to worries about potential outbreaks of other viral infections, such as Hantavirus, and that Ghana's preparatory activities had not started lately.