For some of us knowledge about the H1N1 disease was got from the media. The public is now aware that the pandemic is caused by virus spread by those already infected.
Through awareness creation, I also know that symptoms of the disease include cough, running nose, fatigue, and that in complex cases, pneumonia and death could occur.
It is therefore important for all stakeholders to join hands in managing the disease efficiently so that it does not create any social problems.
I think there is the need to use a multifaceted approach in managing the disease.
In the first place, the government, schools, churches, and non-goverrnmental organisations, among others, should plan and devise means of addressing this medical problem.
The government should also collaborate with the media in the effort to intensify education on the disease, especially its mode of infection, symptoms and mode of prevention.
I perceive that the ordinary Ghanaian does not appreciate the magnitude of the danger that the disease poses if it becomes widespread.
With intensive education, the public would appreciate the need to use preventive measures to combat the spread of the pandemic.
It is equally important for health personnel to be adequately trained for them to manage the disease well. This will ensure that they do not contract the disease.
Drugs, medical supplies, logistics and financial support should be provided regularly to the various hospitals so that they do not become overly pressurised if the disease should attack.
Churches must use a few minutes of their worship time to educate their congregation on the nature of the disease and the danger it poses to the public.
NGO’s should also play their part by going to the remote areas of the country to get the message across.
As individuals we should improve personal hygiene and cover our mouths and nose with handkerchiefs when coughing or sneezing in public.
It is equally important to wash our hands with soap after handshakes, especially at funerals and other public gatherings.
Those who have been diagnosed to have been infected with the disease should do well to keep their distance from the public to help reduce its spread.
I heard about the H1N1 pandemic from the foreign media when it began its spread from Mexico about a year ago.
At that time, health professionals gave assurance to the public that they could contain the disease if it got to Ghana.
In Ghana since the disease first surfaced in Accra, information received from the media and other health professionals was that, the virus was brought into the country by people who had travelled abroad and had returned home.
At the moment, the disease is said to have infected people in the Eastern, Central, and Brong Ahafo regions, and also in the Ashanti Region where a few cases have been reported.
The rapid spread of the disease is a bit scary, so there is the need for the government to collaborate with the Ghana Health Service to manage the disease in a more effective and efficient way to prevent further spread.
The disease is air borne and spread through a sneeze, cough or touch by infected persons or hard surfaces.
It is, therefore, a bit difficult to prevent healthy people from contracting it, especially, if they are not aware that the next person they may come into contact with is a carrier.
In Ghana self-medication is becoming a culture. This stems from the fact that people hardly visit the hospitals and clinics for health care when they fall sick but only attend hospital as a last resort.
The government should, therefore, treat the H1N1 pandemic as a priority by setting aside some contingency fund that could be used to manage the disease in an effective way, especially, at this stage when its spread has not reached epidemic proportions.
It is important that drugs and other health logistics are distributed to various health facilities to enhance efficient treatment of those who may be infected.
The Bosomtwe Rural Bank is assisting in the management of the disease through the support it provides to the District Health Directorate.
Education through radio, television and the print media should be intensified to sensitise Ghanaians to the disease.
As an airborne disease, the H1N1 pandemic spreads very fast, so it is important to initiate measures to manage it efficiently and effectively.
It seems many people are not aware of the disease due to inadequate education on it. It is important to roll out educational campaigns that the ordinary Ghanaian would understand.
With such education, people would become knowledgeable about the H1N1 pandemic and support measures in combating it in a holistic manner.
The various Assemblies in the country should be involved in fighting the disease. When all assembly members are involved, it is likely that they would be adequately resourced and motivated to communicate with people in their electoral area and give them adequate information on the disease.
By this, people will become aware of the symptoms of the disease, how it is spread so control measures are employed when one is infected.
Executives of Transport Unions should also embark on educational campaigns so they can also educate their members and passengers about the disease.
It is equally important to involve chiefs and opinion leaders as well as pastors in all educational drives to enable them influence people on the dangers that the pandemic poses to society.
Since radio stations play a significant role in public education, the government should use the medium more often to educate the public on the disease.
I have heard a lot about the H1N1 pandemic and know that so far about 513 people have been infected in the country.
I also know that the pandemic is caused by a virus that attacks the respiratory organs, causing victims to be feverish.
Cough, headache, body aches, sore throat, chills, fatigue, diarrhoea and vomiting are also associated with the pandemic, and according to medical experts, children, pregnant women and the aged are the most vulnerable.
So far, education on the H1N1 pandemic has not been intensive because in my hometown in the Bosomtwe District, many of my neighbours know little or nothing about the nature of the diseases and its mode of spread.
Since our culture makes us very interactive, it is important for the Regional and District Health Directorates to embark on intensive education through public fora and seminars to enable the public appreciate its socio-economic effects .
This is because in vehicles, passengers seldom cover their mouth when coughing, and when sneezing, they seldom cover their noses.
The same thing happens at funeral grounds and in churches, indicating that if education on the disease had been intense, people would have appreciated the need to cover their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing.
It is good that the disease has not affected many people in the region as had happened in neighbouring regions.
That is why the government should support the Ghana Heath Service with medical supplies to enable them manage the disease in case it begins to spread widely.
The government should also consider the management of the disease as a top priority by making available money that would be used to manage the disease.
The H1N1 pandemic which is caused by virus affects the respiratory organs.
The symptoms of the H1N1 pandemic include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, diarrhoea and vomiting .
Complications of the disease include pneumonia and difficulty in breathing, and in extreme cases, death occurs in persons who have other medical problems or complications
In the Ashanti Region, we have so far trained and sensitised about 1210 health professionals in readiness to contain and manage the H1N1 influenza pandemic which has so far infected 513 people in the country.
The trained health professionals are located at various health facilities in the urban and district hospitals to enhance early diagnoses of people who may be infected with the H1N1 virus.
The Regional Directorate of Health Services has also distributed drugs and protective equipment to all regional and districts hospitals and formed teams who have mounted surveillance to be able to detect the disease.
The H1N1 pandemic is a respiratory disease caused by a virus. According to medical professionals, the disease regularly occurs in pigs, but can attack people who are close to the infected animals.
Symptoms include fever, cough, body ache, fatigue and diarrhoea, among others. The mode of spread is mainly through the air and can be got through other people’s sneeze and cough.
At the moment, many Ghanaians are ignorant about the nature of the disease, its mode of spread and what measures to take when one is infected.
I am saying this because despite the fact that some Ghanaians are reported to have been infected with the disease, there are still people who think that the disease is not real and alien to the country.
Education on the disease has not been intensive enough to sensitise people to the danger that the disease poses to Ghanaians should it become widespread.
The Ghana Health Service should, therefore, devise means of getting to ordinary Ghanaians not only in the urban centres, but also in the rural communities for them to appreciate the danger that the disease poses.
The campaign should be taken to the people in their communities and not on radio and television programmes alone. Posters on the nature of the disease should also be made available.
So far, the Ghana Health Service is doing its best to manage the disease, but their efforts should be supported by the government through medical supplies, financial resources and logistics to enhance efficient management of the disease.
School authorities should also monitor their students and report any incidence of the disease early enough to health professionals to avoid complications.
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