First swine flu victim out of danger (August 11, 2009)

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The first victim of the H1N1 virus (Swine flu) in Ghana is responding well to treatment and is expected to be discharged from hospital in the next few days.
Her brother, who reportedly contracted the disease in the UK and transmitted it to the young woman, is also said to be doing well.
In an interview in Accra yesterday, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sory, said so far no other members of the family had tested positive but people who had had any contact with the patient were under surveillance.
He said another suspected case, which was reported at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in the Western Region, had turned out to be negative.
Dr Sory said the situation was alarming but advised the public to observe simple hygiene to protect themselves from catching the virus.
Last Thursday, the Ministry of Health confirmed Ghana’s first recorded case of Swine Flu in the Greater Accra Region.
Another suspected case, which was still under investigation, was reported at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in the Western Region.
The Accra patient, who is a young woman and said to have been infected by a brother who came from the United Kingdom, went to Aviation Hospital at the Kotoka International Airport with mild symptoms of the influenza, but further checks detected the presence of the virus.
The Ministry of Health has placed its surveillance systems on alert and has braced itself up to face any challenges that may arise from any further reported case of the infection.
Already the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research has been designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the testing of H1N1 in Ghana.
Meanwhile the institute has given the assurance that it is well equipped to test the presence of the H1N1 virus.