22 Fishermen Screened For Ebola In Sekondi

Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang
Twenty-Two Ghanaian fishermen allegedly from Ningo Prampram in the Greater Accra Region who landed at the Bosomtwi Sam Fishing Habour at Sekondi last Tuesday were quarantined and screened for the deadly Ebola virus.

According to sources, the Ghanaian fishermen had been embarking on their fishing expedition in Ebola endemic countries like Guinea and Liberia over the past three years.

They were, therefore, on their routine visit to Ghana when security personnel detained and quarantined them after the fishermen in Sekondi alerted the security.

The fishermen at Sekondi Fishing Harbour indicated that over the past weeks, they had been educated on the dangers of Ebola and what to do when fishermen from Ebola-stricken countries visited the Sekondi Fishing Harbour.

The fisher folks had also been advised to report any individual who arrives in the country from neighbouring West African

countries.
'So we called the port officials when we were informed that some Ghanaian fishermen had arrived in Ghana from Liberia and Guinea,' they narrated.

'Since the disease has affected a lot of people in Guinea and Liberia, we thought the Ghanaian fishermen who came from those areas on Tuesday, have to be checked before releasing them.'

The security personnel have since been advising the fishermen to remain calm and vigilant.

When DAILY GUIDE contacted John Adjei Mensah, PRO for the Canoe Fishermen at Senkodi, he confirmed the story and disclosed that the 22 fishermen had been released to go to their respective families after the screening.

In a related development, Dr Emmanuel Tinkorang, Western Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), had noted that illegal miners also called galamsey operators risked contracting the Ebola disease.

He explained most foreigners from some neighbouring West African countries who were engaged in galamsey activities in the region used unapproved routes to enter into the country.

He pointed out that 'holding rooms' had been created in all the major health facilities in the region where suspected Ebola patients would be kept before they would be referred to Greater Accra.

Four West African nations- Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria are battling to control the spread of the Ebola virus which has claimed about 2,300 lives and affected over 4,500 individuals.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has partnered with other international organisations and Western nations to help the sub-region combat the disease.

In Ghana, the Health Ministry is collaborating with all security services to screen persons at the various border posts to prevent infected persons from entering the country.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi