The autopsies were conducted at the St Patrick Hospital at Offinso, Maase; St Michael Hospital at Pramso and the School of Medical Sciences of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

The cause of death was contrary to earlier suspicions that the students might have died out of food poisoning or killed for ritual purposes.

In all, the school has recorded 26 cases of meningitis, out of which four have died. 

Three of the affected students are still recuperating at the hospital and are said to be responding to treatment while 19 others have since been discharged.

Press conference

Addressing the media at the school yesterday, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei-Mensah, said through the collaborative efforts of experts from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) at the district, regional and national levels and an experienced official from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, “we can propose the cause of these deaths as meningitis.”

He said although the Ashanti Region was not considered a meningitis zone, the region had nonetheless recorded some cases of the disease in the past.

No cause for alarm

He said due to the fact that meningitis was endemic in Ghana, “reports of one case of meningitis does not constitute an outbreak though enhanced surveillance is required to prevent additional cases.”

His point was corroborated by the Ashanti Regional Director of Health, Dr Alexis Beifubah, who explained that although reported cases of more than 10 could be described as an outbreak, “we have a threshold to determine that.”

According to him, one could only describe a disease as an outbreak if there were 10 recorded cases per 100,000 population.

Dr Beifubah explained that the population of Kumasi Academy alone could not be used to arrive at that conclusion.

The Ashanti Region had in 2008 and 2011 recorded cases of meningitis. However, according to the health experts, “the index of suspicion is low. This is due to the not-too-common incidence of the disease in the region and as a result, some of the cases are missed and treated as malaria.”

He explained that although the autopsies clearly showed the cause of death to be due to meningitis, the directorate was yet to know the type of meningitis.

He said samples from the deceased had been sent to the Noguchi Memorial Medical Institute for further analysis to determine the type of meningitis.

Dr Beifubah advised the residents to avoid overcrowding, drink a lot of water and fluids, open windows in rooms to allow for ventilation and report to the nearest health facility if one experienced fever, headache and neck pain.

As part of the interventions to contain the situation and prevent further infections, the Asokore Mampong District Epidemic Management Committee has been holding meetings with all stakeholders, including the Regional Technical Coordinating Team.

Mood in school

Students who had earlier deserted the school had returned and were ready to write their end of term examinations.

According to the headmistress of, Mrs Eunice Appiah Nkansah, the board of directors of the school was scheduled to have an emergency meeting to decide on the way forward.

Background

It would be recalled that there was a standoff between the police and parents of students of Kumasi Academy last Friday when the latter thronged the school to withdraw their children following news of reported deaths of some students.

The rumours were that three students had died of food poisoning and the parents had gone to the school to take their children home.

The situation led to some students taking the law into their own hands, throwing stones and as a result causing damage to some school properties.