Suspected Ebola case investigated in Ghana
A child from Mali that died at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, Ghana, is being investigated as a suspected case of Ebola Viral Disease (EVD), according to the Ghana News Agency today.
Ghana’s Ministry of Health is awaiting the results of blood samples of a 12 year old girl suspected to have been killed by the deadly Ebola virus, the Ultimate 1069 reported. The Noguchi Memorial Institute is carrying out the test to confirm if Ghana has recorded its first case of the disease.
The Mali government has informed the World Health Organization of four suspected cases earlier.
The results of the test will be known by Monday.
EVD was first recognized in 1976 and was named after a river in the Congo. It received a lot of popular attention thanks to the best-seller, “The Hot Zone”.
People can be exposed to Ebola virus from direct contact with the blood and/or secretions of an infected person. Thus, the virus is often spread through families and friends because they come in close contact with such secretions when caring for infected persons. People can also be exposed to Ebola virus through contact with objects, such as needles, that have been contaminated with infected secretions.
The incubation period for EVD ranges from 2 to 21 days. The onset of illness is abrupt and is characterized by fever, headache, joint and muscle aches, sore throat, and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. A rash, red eyes, hiccups and internal and external bleeding may be seen in some patients.
The death rate for EVD can be up to 90%. There is no standard treatment for EVD.
For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page and the Outbreak News This Week Radio Show page.
[…] Ebola outbreak that originated in Guinea has supposedly spread further along the West African Coast, with one […]
[…] The suspected case of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in a young girl in Ghana has been ruled out by laboratory testing , according to a World Health Organization (WHO) update today. […]
[…] people have died of Ebola in Guinea …KATH investigates suspected Ebola caseCitifmonlineSuspected Ebola case investigated in GhanaThe Global Dispatchall 5 news […]
[…] of suspected Ebola case -officialReuters AfricaKATH investigates suspected Ebola caseCitifmonlineSuspected Ebola case investigated in GhanaThe Global […]
[…] people have died of Ebola in Guinea …KATH investigates suspected Ebola caseCitifmonlineSuspected Ebola case investigated in GhanaThe Global […]
Who brought this child to the ER? They are most certainly infected as well. Were they quarantines or are they still out there possibly infecting others?