Ashanti Regional Minister denies Ebola links to KUMACA deaths

Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah has denied media reports suggesting that he attributed the cause of death of students at Kumasi Academy (KUMACA) to Ebola.

According to him, he could not fathom why the media would twist the statement he made and draw their own conclusion when he is not a medical doctor.

“I’m not a medical doctor so how could I have come to that conclusion,” he quizzed.

“This is not malaria and people are saying….it is likely to be Ebola”, the Minister revealed on Kumasi based Nhyira FM on Tuesday.

Speaking on Oman FM, Tuesday, Mr. Simon Osei Mensah, said health professionals are still investigating the cause of death of the students and therefore cannot conclude that they died as a result of Ebola.

He said some people are suspecting the yet to be identified disease may be Ebola, but indicated that he has been asking those people to stop drawing that conclusion until the medical report are issued.

“As I talk to you clinical investigations into the cause of death of the students are ongoing at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research. I cannot draw that conclusion,” he said.

At least, three students are reported to have died within one week, bringing to seven, the number of student deaths this year alone a situation causing alarm to parents whose wards are in the school.

Hon. Simon Osei Mensah told Oman FM that he is on his way to the school to hold a meeting with Directors of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) over this alarming development.

According to him, the outcome of the meeting will determine the way forward saying “we will either close down the school for the time being or not.”