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Hello Jeff - This is more
bad news, especially since the State Dept and UN which is 'selecting'
our refugee suicide bio bombers, this new disease will no doubt
get to the US pronto.
This sounds to me more like 1918 flu. It seems to
also cause a deadly meningitis. It is an Influenza A,
HIN! swine flu.
It would be extremely wise for the US State Department to close our
borders to Ghana and neighboring countries.
However, we know that there is a plot to kill off Americans using
biobombers from Africa and Muslims so it is doubtful the US will do
what is wise.
We really need to know more about this flu-meningitis disease
killing students and other age groups in Ghana, a country that we
get many refugees from. We all know how good the health
screening of refugees to the US is.
It is wise to keep this flu out of the US.
Patty
Published Date: 2017-12-10 23:35:03
Subject: PRO/EDR> Meningitis - Ghana (06): (AH) fatal, H.S.
students, influenza, RFI
Archive Number: 20171210.5494656
MENINGITIS - GHANA (06): (ASHANTI) FATAL, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS,
INFLUENZA, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
**************************************************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
[1]
Date: Fri 8 Dec 2017
Source: YEN [edited]
https://yen.com.gh/102560-mysterious-kumaca-deaths-caused-by-influenza-health-minister.html#102560
Deaths at Kumasi Academy have been linked to spread of influenza.
The health minister is calling for students to still stay on campus.
It has emerged that the cause of mysterious deaths at the Kumasi
Academy is due to type A influenza, the strain [that] causes the
deadly swine flu.
Addressing the press in an emergency briefing, the health minister,
Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, revealed that out of 44 cases reported, only 4
have died, bringing a total of 11 deaths in the year alone.
Samples of students taken for intense investigation at Nuguchi
[Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Accra] revealed
that out of the 19 samples collected, 12 tested positive for
influenza type A.
Meanwhile, the health minister is calling for all students to be
kept on campus to provide that vaccinations to control the outbreak
are ensured.
A senior pathologist at KATH, Dr Osei Sampene, revealed on Nyira FM
that "all bodies of students from Kumasi Academy showed signs of a
strange disease, which could also be one of its kind in Ghana."
Meanwhile, vaccines are currently being administered to all students
to protect them against possible viral or bacterial infections.
Parliament has summoned the minister for health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu
on updates related to the deaths of persons. According to him, any
attempt by parents to send their wards home poses a serious national
security threat since the cause of their deaths is strangely
unknown.
The current atmosphere at Kumasi Academy is that of fear and
uncertainty as parents run to the school to see if their wards are
doing well, as others demand to take their wards home with them. The
death toll continues to rise, as the total number of persons losing
[their] lives in a week alone has reached 6.
[Byline: Charles Ayitey]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[2]
Date: Fri 8 Dec 2017
Source: citifmonline.com [edited]
https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/08/kumaca-students-to-stay-in-school-over-swine-flu-fears/
Indications from the government are that the students and staff of
Kumasi Academy will remain in the school till response efforts to
the detected influenza virus are completed. Addressing Parliament on
Friday [8 Dec 2017], the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said
efforts are already underway in this regard while disease
surveillance measures are being strengthened.
Parents want public health prioritized. "Mr. Speaker, going forward,
the ministries of Health and Education, the Ghana Health Service,
and the Ghana Education Service have recommended, and we are
embarking upon that, that students should continue to remain [on the
school's premises] to enable final conclusion and response actions,"
the Minister said.
Initially, the Kumasi Academy was set to close down today [Fri 8 Dec
2017] until it became clearer that the health crisis in the school
was brought by the pandemic strain of influenza type A, H1N1 2009,
also known as swine flu.
The government is thus looking for support from the World Health
Organization (WHO) to provide influenza vaccines for the students
and staff.
The health crisis at the school has claimed 4 lives and hospitalized
at least 32. However, the outright cause of death of the 4 students
of the school and the hospitalization of 32 has yet to be fully
confirmed.
Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu added on the floor of
Parliament that the government was going to rely on antiviral
agents. "We have procured already, and we are in the process of
procuring, antiviral agents for case management. So far, that is
what has been used, and it looks like it has succeeded in containing
and treating the disease. Aside from these, steps are also being
taken to enhance school health at Kumasi Academy, and there will be
strict adherence to infection prevention and control measures along
with intensified sensitisation and public education," Mr.
Agyemang-Manu added.
[Byline: Delali Adogla-Bessa]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[3]
Date: Sun 10 Dec 2017
Source: Ghana Web [edited]
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Kumasi-Academy-deaths-608240
Finally, the health authorities have confirmed that there is an
influenza outbreak at Kumasi Academy School. The health Minister
assured parliament that his ministry was in discussions with the WHO
to obtain vaccines for the students and staff of the school.
It appears obvious that there was no plan in place to tackle the
outbreak, which killed 4 students and has left another 18 students
on admission.
While the plans to vaccinate the student body [are] appropriate,
have close contacts of the dead and the sick been identified? How
and where have these been monitored? Are there plans to provide them
with chemoprophylaxis?
In March of this year [2017], 4 students of the same school were
reported to have died of meningitis. If this report is accurate,
what measures were taken before the students returned to school?
In an interaction with the press, the Minister of Health indicated
that the president had been exposed. Who determined the exposure? If
indeed the president was exposed, what steps have been taken to
safeguard his health? Why was he permitted to go to the campus when
there was an outbreak whose source had not been determined? Why was
it deemed safe to have the school's anniversary celebration during
the outbreak?
Finally, too often, we do not learn the right lessons from such
events. Hopefully, our authorities will develop a policy to handle
such occurrences in the future.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The 1st news report above says that there have been 44 cases
reported, with 4 deaths in the current outbreak among students at
Kumasi Academy; however, later in this news report the number of
deaths in the current outbreak is stated to be 6; also 12 of 19
samples, the exact source of the samples not being specified, tested
positive for influenza virus type A. Were the "samples" respiratory
secretions? Were the people sampled the dead students, the surviving
hospitalized students, or non-hospitalized students with mild
illness? The 2nd news report above says that this influenza A virus
identified was "the pandemic strain, H1N1 2009 also known as swine
flu," but questions whether influenza was "the outright cause of
death of the 4 students at the school and the hospitalization of 32
has yet to be fully confirmed."
The H1N1 virus that caused the pandemic in 2009-2010 is now a regular
human flu virus that continues to circulate seasonally worldwide and is
now called A(H1N1)pdm09. A remarkable feature of A/(H1N1)pdm09 in the
2009 pandemic, compared with other seasonal strains, was noted to be its
high fatality rate, admissions to ICUs for acute respiratory distress,
and its higher incidence among younger people (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27941959,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5632968/,
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0904252#t=abstract,
and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4910438/).
The current influenza vaccines protect against an influenza A (H1N1) virus,
an influenza A (H3N2) virus, and one or 2 influenza B viruses (depending
on the vaccine). Currently circulating influenza viruses are reported
to be susceptible to the neuraminidase inhibitor antiviral medications,
oseltamivir, zanamivir, and peramivir; however, rare sporadic instances
of oseltamivir-resistant and peramivir-resistant influenza A(H1N1)pdm09
viruses have been detected worldwide (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm).
Antiviral treatment as early as possible is recommended for patients with
confirmed or suspected influenza who have severe, complicated, or progressive
illness; who require hospitalization; or who are at high risk for serious
influenza-related complications (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/antivirals/index.htm).
More information on this outbreak at Kumasi Academy would be
appreciated from knowledgeable sources, especially the findings of
post-mortem exams on the 4 or 6 students who died recently.
Kumasi Academy is a public secondary boarding school located in Asokore-Mampong,
a suburb of the city of Kumasi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumasi_Academy).
Kumasi, with an estimated population in 2013 of over 2 million residents,
is the capital of the Ashanti region of Ghana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumasi).
Maps of Ghana can be seen at http://www.ezilon.com/maps/images/africa/political-map-of-Ghana.gif
and http://healthmap.org/promed/p/50377. The Ashanti region is located
in south-central Ghana and is the 3rd largest of 10 administrative regions,
with a population of about 3.6 million residents in 2000, accounting for
19.1 percent of Ghana's total population (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashanti_Region).
- Mod.ML
HealthMap/ProMED-mail map:
Ashanti Region, Ghana:
http://healthmap.org/promed/p/2774
It is very pertinent to know whether the samples that tested
positive for influenza came from the fatal or hospitalized cases as
referred to by ML, influenza associated morbidity and mortality
rates are generally high in very young or the very old, the age
group of these students is also not specified. Ghana is in West
Africa and lies in Northern Hemisphere where the seasonal influenza
activity is just picking up..Also the presentation of many viral
infections is with 'flu' like symptoms, therefore the possibility of
another viral pathogen cannot be ruled out unless results from other
lab tests or autopsy findings are available-Mod.UBA]
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