Additrom School reopens with lessons on Cholera and Ebola

Pupils of Additrom School at Adabraka in Accra last Tuesday reopened for the first term of the 2014/2015 academic year with thorough lessons on cholera and the Ebola virus disease.

The pupils (Primary and JSS) were told of the devastation cholera in particular had caused in the country and why they needed to take keen interest in what they eat, their personal and environmental hygiene.
 
They were also told of the 5,000 Ebola cases which have resulted in about 2,400 deaths across Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.

Among other precautions, they were told not to patronise cooked food sold in the open but to try as much as possible to eat at home or from the school canteen in order not to be exposed to cholera, which they were told results from eating food or drinking water contaminated with the cholera germ.

They are also to wash their hands thoroughly with soap under running water, and this they should do regularly, before and after eating as well as visiting the toilet. Nail biting is also forbidden, and they are to avoid altogether, any food whose source they do not know.

Dr. Appiah-Korang Labi of the Microbiology Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, who led the exercises, called for all to be vigilant and to promptly report any symptoms to health workers.

On Ebola, which he said has no known cure yet, Dr. Labi said anyone coming from any of the countries known to have recorded cases should report to a hospital immediately they fall sick while minimizing contact with people as much as possible.
 
Other guidelines include:

• If you have to help anyone who is sick to the hospital especially individuals with vomiting & diarrhea, ensure you don’t come in contact with their bodily fluids
• Practice hand hygiene always
• Avoid contact with dead bodies whose cause of death are not known (many individuals have contracted the disease this way)
• Avoid contact with dead wild animals
• If you have friends/family members returning from any of the affected countries within a month or come in contact with an ill person from the affected countries presenting with fever, visit the hospital immediately and alert health officials of travel history.

Dr. Appiah-Korang Labi could not hide his admiration for the pupils who he said asked very intelligent questions. Among other questions, the pupils wanted to know who discovered Ebola, where it came from, if there is cure for it and whether one could contract the disease by playing with a monkey.

The Assistant Headmaster of the school, Mr David Ofoe Amedjro, told the pupils not to let their guards down even for a second as the diseases were dangerous and respected no persons. He asked the pupils to impress upon their parents and guardians to provide them with hand sanitizers and liquid soap.

The Headmistress, Ms Deborah Baddoo, said the school took the national effort to combat the spread of the diseases very seriously and planned another health seminar for parents and guardians on September 17.
 
Prior to reopening, teachers of the school had been taken through preventive and management measures to enable them better handle situations.

She said the school was particularly keen on the pupils because as children, they are more vulnerable to all types of sicknesses and therefore require proper care and protection.

“We will spend 14 weeks in school this first term and you can be sure that no week will pass without us reminding them of the basic precautions they must take to stay healthy,” she told Junior Graphic.

Click to read Dr. Labi's powerpoint presentation.