Audio By Carbonatix
The Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Immigration Service, Francis Palm Deti has said new arrangements have been put in place at major entry points to screen foreigners visiting the country.
He said at the Elubo border, personnel of the Ports Health Authority (PHA) have started carrying out initial screening of passengers onboard buses before they enter the country.
According to him, it is a way of ensuring that possible carriers of the deadly Ebola virus which has killed hundreds in Guinea and Sierra-Leone, are identified and immediately handled properly.
A US citizen suspected to have entred the country with the virus was detained at the Nyaho Medical Centre for tests to be conducted on his blood samples. The man arrived from Guinea on Sunday and reported at the infirmary for medical attention.
The tests proved negative but he died Monday afternoon.
Following the development, Ghana’s Health Ministry met with stakeholders Tuesday to strategize on how to contain the deadly Ebola virus, should it break out in the country.
Mr Deti said there were no visible quarantine zones available yet to keep suspected carriers of the virus but assured the PHA would have such a facility somewhere around the entry points to serve as a useful hub to detain persons who have all kinds of ailments.
He said prohibited immigrants who refused to submit to medical screening when needed would be put back on the flight and refused entry into Ghana.
Initial tests run on the American at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), according to hospital sources, was inconclusive because the officials used the wrong reagent (chemical).
There have been some 467 deaths out of 759 cases reported in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia as at June 30, this year.
The Public Relations Officer of the Health Ministry, Tony Goodman earlier told Myjoyonline.com that the Ministry had requested for some reagents from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to help the investigations.
Chairman of the Health Committee in Parliament, Joseph Yileh Chireh hopes to see a stronger collaboration among the agencies to prevent an outbreak of the disease.
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