Health officials in Ashanti Region have begun vaccinating students and staff of Kumasi Academy (KUMACA) after an outbreak of  H1N1 killed four students with over 70 hospitalised.

The exercise comes just a day before the school goes on a Christmas break after students finished writing their end of term examinations.

Out of a total of 3000 students and staff expected to take part in the exercise, 2,680 showed up for the exercise on the first day.

Deputy Director in charge of Public Health, Dr Akwasi Yeboah Ewudzi, told Joy News the exercise has been successful.

"Tomorrow if there are some of the staffs and relatives who could not make it today, we would try and finish with them. If there are anyone or two students who are also left out for any reason, on Friday we will send a skeleton staff to see to them," he said.

Officials say the exercise would be extended to health workers in at least four health facilities who attended to the students of KUMACA. At least three of them who contracted the virus have been treated and discharged.

Dr Yeboah-Ewudzi says nurses and doctors at KNUST, Manhyia, Kumasi South and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital would be covered.

At least, three nurses at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Hospital (KNUST) contracted the H1N1 virus whilst attending to affected students at the facility.

"We will want to also vaccinate the health staff in the four major hospitals where the students were reporting. KNUST Hospital had the highest number of students reporting, close to 70 students and three of the nurses even got the flu.

He added that "they [nurses] tested positive and they were admitted there for two-three days; because of that, we are also going to vaccinate the health staff in these hospitals. "