Government installs equipment at KIA to screen for Ebola
Two computers with thermal imaging cameras have been installed at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) as part of measures by the government to beef up surveillance to prevent any possible outbreak of the Ebola viral disease in the country.
The computers, acquired at a cost of $200,000 and installed at the Arrival Section of the KIA, will be able to check the temperature of travellers.
Any passenger with a temperature reading more than 38 degrees Celsius will be isolated for further screening.
Checking of temperature
The Minister of Health, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah, and the Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Attivor, were at the KIA Monday to inspect the equipment.
They were taken round the facility by the Head of Port Health, Mr Raphael John Marfo, and the Medical Director of the Airport Clinic Limited, Dr Nana Ako-Brew.
Dr Agyeman-Mensah said the installation of the temperature scan formed part of the government’s commitment to ensure that the Ebola virus did not enter the country.
He said the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Ebola set up by the President was leaving no stone unturned in its quest to ensure that Ghana stayed Ebola free.
Apart from the imaging machines, officials at the KIA also have non-conduct thermometers which also help them check the temperature of people.
Meanwhile, a report by the Northeastern University, USA, puts Ghana at the top of 30 countries that are likely to report a case of Ebola by the end of October this year.
According to the report, Ghana stood a 49 per cent chance of importing the virus into the country through air travels.
Health Minister assures
However, the Minister of Health assured Ghanaians that with the measures put in place, any passenger with Ebola symptoms would be picked on arrival.
He said all other entry points in the country had been equipped to isolate any suspected case.
Notwithstanding the assurance by Dr Agyeman-Mensah, people are still worried that given the country’s porous borders, Ghana still stands the risk of experiencing an Ebola outbreak.
Mrs Attivor, under whose ministry the KIA operates, said the ministry was doing its best to equip airport officials to detect any case of Ebola.
The two ministers expressed their satisfaction with the work being done by the KIA to ensure that no case of Ebola passed through their hands.
They also visited the KIA Ebola Isolation Centre where, according to Mr Ako-Brew, any suspected case would be sent to before it would be transferred to the Tema Isolation Centre after confirmation from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
Earlier in the month, the government had acquired 10,000 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) and distributed them to health facilities, regional directorates of health, institutions, schools, among other facilities, as part of its preparations.
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