An outbreak of chicken pox at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has forced hospital authorities to close the unit temporarily.

The closure would enable authorities to fumigate the unit to check further spread of the disease.

The exercise started yesterday evening and some patients on admission have been moved to other parts of the hospital.

Joy News learnt from hospital authorities that the situation is so severe that some doctors and nurses are contracting the infectious sickness.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Prof. Nii Otu Nartey confirmed the outbreak and said by the end of the week, hopefully, the exercise would be completed.

“It takes some time,” he explained, and said “the Accident and the Emergency Centre is not one singly big area, they are different areas, so you disinfect one area and you move the patients who are around to a different area and you move to disinfect the area; each area takes about two to three days for disinfection.”

Prof. Otu Nartey said some patience have been discharged to go home in a bid to decongest the centre.



Story by Isaac Essel